Americans' credit scores have reached a record high as foreclosures and bankruptcies expire from reports, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The average credit score nationwide reached 700 in April, the highest national credit score average since at least 2005 when the data started being tracked by the Fair Isaac Corp, or FICO.
About 6 million Americans will have bankruptcies removed from their scores within the next five years, according to a report by Barclay's PLC, and the number of consumers believed to be the riskiest borrowers, with a credit score below 600, include just 20 percent of U.S. adults, down from 25.5 percent in 2010.
"Higher scores lead to more available credit," Cristian de Ritis, senior director in the economics group at Moody’s Analytics, told the Journal. "We'd see more activity in terms of loan approvals and credit-card approvals, more spending, and that would have a ripple effect across the economy, increasing aggregate demand for goods and services."
With higher marks come a rise in credit-card lending and increases in spending limits, signs the U.S. economy is improving and Americans are recovering from the 2007 housing crisis.
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