The debt burden of the US population in the second quarter of 2021 grew at the fastest pace in eight years - it increased by 2.1 percent, and the total volume of citizens' liabilities approached $ 15 trillion, Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported.

Compared to the first quarter, debt increased by 313 billion, also breaking a multi-year record of growth in monetary terms - the previous one was recorded in 2007, the report says. The most significant contribution to the increase in the volume of debt was made by mortgages. The number of such loans increased by 282 billion and reached $ 10.44 trillion by the end of June. Over the past four quarters, the volume of issued mortgage loans reached the highest level in history - about 4.6 trillion dollars, which is associated with low lending rates.

Americans' credit card debt rose 17 billion after falling 49 billion in the first quarter. But the level of these commitments is still 140 billion below what was recorded at the end of 2019. Auto loans rose 33 billion, education loans fell 14 billion. Overall, non-home lending grew by $ 44 billion.

The level of overdue loans remained rather low, which is associated with measures to support borrowers introduced in the pandemic. By the end of June, it stood at 2.7 percent, down two percent from the fourth quarter of 2019 before the coronavirus crisis began.