One of the major signs that a consumer may be having trouble with debt is the inability to make their payments on time.

However, a recent report from the American Bankers Association shows that some consumers may have finally gotten a handle on some of their bills in the fourth quarter of 2009. According to the organization, the percentage of all loan accounts that were delinquent decreased from 3.23 percent of accounts in the third quarter to 3.19 in the next.

“People are actively reducing their level of debt relative to their income and are rebuilding their savings,” ABA chief economist James Chessen said. “But it’s still a very stressful time for many families and this won’t disappear until more people have jobs.”

After seeing an employment rate beyond 10 percent last year, the first three months of 2010 saw the jobless rate rest at 9.7 percent. As a result, the numbers reported on loans in the fourth quarter may actually improve as consumers find employment.

Still, late payments in a number of loan categories declined during the fourth quarter despite the employment market. For example, the number of bank card accounts that were at least 30 days late fell from 4.77 to 4.39 percent.

However, home loans didn’t see the same kind of performance. The number of mortgage loans that were late on payment went up from 4.3 to 4.32 percent, which is a new high for that category.

The Federal Reserve Board’s statistics on consumer credit showed that it declined 6.1 percent during the fourth quarter of last year. Declines continued in February, which showed a preliminary drop of 5.6 percent. The bulk of this was made up by a reduction of revolving consumer credit, which was down 13.1 percent.

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