Where student loans are most delinquent

Click on the map to see state-level information on student loan delinquencies and balances.

Nearly 12% of student loans are at least 90 days delinquent, according to new federal data. But borrowers in some states are having more trouble paying their loans than their peers elsewhere.

West Virginia has the highest share of delinquent loan balances, at 17.8%, while South Dakota has the lowest, at 6.6%, according to the latest quarterly data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Related: Class of 2013 grads average $35,200 in loans, credit card debt

The swift growth in student debt and delinquencies has come into the spotlight in recent years. Student loans were the only type of debt that continued to increase during the Great Recession.

Outstanding student loan balances increased by $20 billion during the first quarter of 2013, to a total of $986 billion as of March 31. Some 16.2% of Americans have student loans and carry an average balance of $24,810.

Posted in: college, delinquency, delinquent, student loans

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  Mortgage servicers will have a lot of work to do to prepare for the coming wave of principal reductions unleashed by the $26 billion mortgage settlement.

  That's because they haven't been doing many of them up until this point.

  Only 8.5% of loan modifications in the fourth quarter of 2011 involved principal reduction, according to the latest government data. That's a mere 9,867 troubled homeowners for the quarter.

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  Tami Luhby - Mar 28, 2012 2:34 PM ET
  Posted in: banks, default, delinquency, foreclosure, loan modification, mortgage servicers, mortgage settlement, principal reduction

• Foreclosure sales on the rise

  Foreclosure sales are on the rise, even in states where banks need court approval to foreclose on a home.

  Sales rose to 91,000 in January, up 29% from the month before, according to LPS Mortgage Monitor.

  Foreclosure sales are when a bank completes the foreclosure process and takes possession of the home.

  Experts have been closely monitoring foreclosure activity for signs of a resurgence.

  Foreclosure sales had dropped in the fall of 2010 after MORE

  Tami Luhby - Mar 6, 2012 9:06 AM ET
  Posted in: delinquency, foreclosure, foreclosure sales, housing, LPS, mortgages