Credit card delinquencies fall in October

Consumers cut debt in October. Given the current unstable economy and high unemployment numbers, many Americans are taking steps toward credit card debt reduction.

Capital One, Discover Financial and Bank of America reported today that late payments on credit cards fell to their lowest levels of the year.

The October numbers are a signal to many economists consumers are conducting better credit management, making timely payments and reducing their debts, ABC reports. Discover found its delinquency rate fell from 4.41 to 4.34 percent, while Capital One's figures declined 1.12 percent.

"It's nice to see that consumers feel more confident in at least being able to pay their other bills," RBC Capital Markets analyst Jason Arnold told ABC. "We still have a very slow recovery ahead of us, but it's encouraging to see the seasonal trends being overwhelmed by credit performance."

Charge offs, credit debt that banks don't believe will be collected, also fell for most of the major companies. The lone exception was Bank of America, which saw its numbers climb to more than 10 percent, after falling to 9.99 percent in September.