HERE WE GO AGAIN? Credit-Card Debt Nears $1 Trillion as Banks Push Plastic.

That sum would come close to the all-time peak of $1.02 trillion set in July 2008, just before the financial crisis intensified, and could signal an easing of frugal habits ingrained by the recession.

The boom has been driven by steady economic conditions and an improving job market that have made creditworthy consumers less reluctant to take on debt. In addition, lenders have signed up millions of subprime consumers who previously weren’t able to get credit.

Everything sounds great right up until that last line. The story also notes that automobile loans are at an all-time high, fueled in part by subprime lending — with delinquency rates on the rise.