G.19                                                        CONSUMER CREDIT                        For release at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time)
1                                                           September 1998                                             November 6, 1998

Consumer credit grew at about an 8 percent annual rate in September, up from 4-1/4 percent in August.  In September, automobile and
and revolving credit grew at moderate rates.  The volatile "other" credit category rebounded following a decline in August.

CONSUMER CREDIT OUTSTANDING 1
Seasonally adjusted
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                                             1997                                                1998
                                _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

                                 Sept.   Oct.    Nov.    Dec.   Jan. r  Feb. r  Mar. r  Apr. r   May r  June r  July r  Aug. r  Sept. p
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Percent change at annual rate 2
  Total                             3.1     6.2    -3.0     5.9     2.3     4.9     6.7     4.3     2.3     9.0     5.3     4.2     7.9
   Automobile                       5.5    10.4    -3.8    17.9     5.5     4.2     8.8     4.1     4.0     8.2     6.3    10.5     5.2
   Revolving                        6.9     5.3     2.6     2.0     4.3     5.1     9.1     5.4    -1.4     9.2    -4.8     4.7     6.8
   Other 3                         -6.9     2.1   -12.3    -3.9    -6.1     5.5    -0.9     2.4     7.0     9.7    22.7    -5.7    13.8

Amount: billions of dollars
  Total                         1,223.9 1,230.2 1,227.1 1,233.1 1,235.5 1,240.5 1,247.4 1,251.9 1,254.3 1,263.7 1,269.3 1,273.7 1,282.1
   Automobile                     405.1   408.6   407.3   413.4   415.3   416.7   419.8   421.2   422.6   425.5   427.7   431.5   433.4
   Revolving                      526.8   529.1   530.3   531.1   533.0   535.3   539.4   541.8   541.2   545.3   543.1   545.3   548.4
   Other 3                        292.0   292.5   289.5   288.6   287.1   288.4   288.2   288.8   290.5   292.8   298.4   297.0   300.4
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TERMS OF CREDIT AT COMMERCIAL BANKS AND FINANCE COMPANIES 4
Percent except as noted: not seasonally adjusted
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Institution, terms, and type of loan
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Commercial banks
  Interest rates
   48-mo. new car                  n.a.    n.a.    8.96    n.a.    n.a.    8.87    n.a.    n.a.    8.69    n.a.    n.a.    8.71    n.a.
   24-mo. personal                 n.a.    n.a.   14.50    n.a.    n.a.   14.01    n.a.    n.a.   13.76    n.a.    n.a.   13.45    n.a.
   Credit card plan
    All accounts                   n.a.    n.a.   15.65    n.a.    n.a.   15.65    n.a.    n.a.   15.67    n.a.    n.a.   15.83    n.a.
    Accounts assessed interest     n.a.    n.a.   15.62    n.a.    n.a.   15.33    n.a.    n.a.   15.62    n.a.    n.a.   15.85    n.a.

New car loans at auto finance companies
  Interest rates                   6.12    7.27    6.85    5.93    6.12    6.98    5.94    6.20    6.07    6.02    6.25    6.00    5.92
  Maturity (months)                55.4    54.4    53.7    53.5    52.8    52.6    51.5    50.7    50.8    50.9    51.7    53.0    53.1
  Loan-to-value ratio                93      92      91      92      92      92      92      91      93      91      92      93      93
  Amount financed (dollars)      18,520  18,779  18,923  19,121  18,944  18,825  18,932  18,922  18,793  18,878  19,084  19,068  19,028
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This release is issued around the fifth business day of each month. The exact date and time may be obtained by calling (202) 452 - 3206.
Footnotes appear on reverse.



1
CONSUMER CREDIT OUTSTANDING
(Billions of dollars)
Not seasonally adjusted

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                                             1997                                                1998
                                _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

                                 Sept.   Oct.    Nov.    Dec.   Jan. r  Feb. r  Mar. r  Apr. r   May r  June r  July r  Aug. r  Sept. p  
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Total                           1,226.7 1,232.5 1,234.5 1,264.1 1,244.0 1,234.2 1,236.1 1,241.2 1,243.2 1,256.9 1,262.4 1,273.9 1,285.1

Major holders
Commercial banks                  507.5   506.3   506.5   512.6   499.3   492.5   492.2   500.2   497.4   491.5   491.8   498.8   500.0
Finance companies                 158.4   156.9   156.4   160.0   159.5   155.7   156.5   154.3   153.6   154.3   156.4   160.2   160.5
Credit unions                     150.0   150.6   150.6   152.4   151.5   150.8   150.7   151.1   152.2   152.4   153.7   154.1   155.7
Savings institutions               48.5    48.0    47.6    47.2    47.1    47.1    47.1    47.5    47.9    48.3    48.7    49.2    49.6
Nonfinancial business              68.7    68.5    70.5    78.9    75.4    72.8    72.7    65.1    65.2    65.3    65.5    66.0    65.6
Pools of securitized assets 5     293.5   302.2   302.9   313.1   311.1   315.3   316.8   323.1   326.9   345.1   346.3   345.7   353.9

Major types of credit 6
Automobile                        408.8   413.5   411.1   417.0   413.5   412.1   415.5   416.0   418.2   425.2   429.4   434.2   437.3
 Commercial banks                 157.2   157.9   156.2   155.3   154.4   152.7   153.9   151.3   151.7   150.9   153.2   155.5   156.0
 Finance companies                 88.5    86.8    86.0    87.0    87.4    84.7    86.8    90.6    89.6    89.9    91.7    95.3    96.2
 Pools of securitized assets 5     56.0    60.6    60.4    65.0    63.1    66.0    65.1    63.7    66.0    71.6    72.5    70.8    72.5

Revolving                         524.3   527.5   532.9   555.9   541.5   535.3   534.1   535.6   535.6   539.6   536.9   542.1   545.7
 Commercial banks                 209.3   209.5   212.7   219.8   208.8   204.6   201.3   209.2   207.3   200.9   197.6   200.4   198.9
 Finance companies                 34.9    34.7    34.8    38.6    37.6    36.9    36.6    30.4    30.5    29.9    29.6    30.2    29.7
 Nonfinancial business             37.7    37.5    38.9    45.0    42.7    41.0    41.2    33.5    33.4    33.5    33.8    34.0    33.7
 Pools of securitized assets 5    212.4   215.7   216.4   221.5   221.8   223.4   226.2   233.7   235.3   245.6   246.0   247.4   253.4

Other                             293.6   291.5   290.5   291.3   288.9   286.8   286.5   289.7   289.4   292.1   296.2   297.7   302.1
 Commercial banks                 141.0   138.9   137.5   137.5   136.2   135.2   137.0   139.8   138.4   139.7   140.9   142.8   145.0
 Finance companies                 35.0    35.3    35.5    34.4    34.5    34.1    33.0    33.4    33.5    34.4    35.0    34.7    34.6
 Nonfinancial business             31.0    31.1    31.6    34.0    32.7    31.8    31.5    31.6    31.8    31.7    31.7    32.0    31.9
 Pools of securitized assets 5     25.1    25.8    26.1    26.6    26.3    26.0    25.6    25.6    25.5    27.9    27.8    27.5    28.0
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1. Covers most short- and intermediate-term credit extended to individuals, excluding loans secured by real estate.
2. Percent changes calculated from unrounded data.
3. Comprises mobile home loans and all other loans not included in automobile or revolving credit, such as loans for education, boats,
trailers, or vacations. These loans may be secured or unsecured.
4. Interest rates are annual percentage rates (APR) as specified by the Federal Reserve's Regulation Z. Interest rates for new-car loans
and personal loans at commercial banks are simple unweighted averages of each bank's most common rate charged during the first calendar
week of the middle month of each quarter. For credit card accounts, the rate for all accounts is the stated APR averaged across all
credit card accounts at all reporting banks. The rate for accounts assessed interest is the annualized ratio of total finance charges at
all reporting banks to the total average daily balances against which the finance charges were assessed (excludes accounts for which no
finance charges were assessed). Finance company data are from the subsidiaries of the three major U.S. automobile manufacturers and are
volume-weighted averages covering all loans of each type purchased during the month.
5. Outstanding balances of pools upon which securities have been issued; these balances are no longer carried on the balance sheets of
the loan originators.
6. Includes estimates for holders that do not separately report consumer credit holding by type.
r=revised.  p=preliminary.