Hong Kong’s consumer credit sector experienced mixed results across different product categories during the first quarter of 2026, as credit card and personal loan balances expanded while revolving lines and loan-on-card products pulled back.
According to TransUnion’s Hong Kong Industry Insights Report, outstanding credit card balances increased by 4.9% year-on-year (YoY), and the average balance per consumer grew by 3.6% YoY. This occurred despite a 2.1% YoY decline in the total number of card accounts. Credit card delinquency rates remained steady, with balance-level delinquency ticking up by just one basis point to 0.23% and account-level delinquency remaining virtually unchanged.
The personal loan segment showed solid growth, with outstanding balances up 3.6% YoY and total accounts rising by 1.3% YoY. Additionally, new personal loan originations surged by 12.1% YoY, while the average balance per consumer rose by 2.7%. At the same time, asset quality improved as personal loan delinquencies dropped at both the account level (down two basis points to 0.84%) and the consumer level (down five basis points to 0.95%).
In contrast, alternative credit products saw notable pullbacks. Revolving line originations plummeted by 40% YoY, leading to a 9.7% YoY reduction in consumers holding these balances and a 1.6% YoY drop in outstanding totals. Loan-on-card products followed a similar downward trajectory, with originations diving 28.3% YoY. For this category, total accounts fell 12.3% YoY, outstanding balances decreased 5.6% YoY, and the number of active borrowers shrank by 12.6% YoY.
The data highlighted the growing footprint of younger borrowers, revealing that Gen Z accounted for 29.4% of new credit card originations and 32.9% of new revolving line originations during the quarter. TransUnion framed these credit trends against a robust domestic economy, noting official government statistics that placed Hong Kong’s Q1 2026 GDP growth at 5.9% and inflation at a modest 1.7% for February and March.
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