Bread Financial's Delinquency Rate Falls To 5.57% From 6.04% As Principal Loans Grow
The card lender's September update shows fewer past-due dollars than a year earlier, alongside a larger loan book.
Bread Financial's delinquency rate was 5.57% on September 30, 2026, down from 6.04% a year earlier, according to an 8-K the company filed Thursday. Principal loans grew over the same stretch, to $16,584 million from $15,928 million.
What the September update shows
The delinquency measure counts loans 30 or more days past due. Delinquent principal balances were $923 million at September 30, 2026, versus $963 million a year earlier.
The net principal loss rate, which tracks loans written off as uncollectible, was 5.99% for September and 6.40% for the three months ended September 30. Net principal losses came to $92 million for the month and $300 million for the three months.
The update was attached as Exhibit 99.1 to the 8-K, which the company furnished under Regulation FD, a disclosure rule, in a press release dated Thursday.
A larger loan book
End-of-period credit card and other loans were $18,850 million, the same figure for both the month and the three-month period. Average loans were $18,740 million in September and $18,591 million for the three months.
Average loans grew 6.4% year over year in September and 5.7% over the three months, the company reported.
The delinquency rate and the principal figures use a narrower base than the total loan lines: the $16,584 million principal figure sits below the $18,850 million end-of-period total.
What it changes for holders
The release carries no guidance. It reports the credit metrics for the period and nothing more, so the comparison is the year-earlier delinquency figures: fewer past-due dollars on a bigger principal base.
BFH closed at $108.63 on Wednesday, before the release.
The company's forward-looking statements list future delinquency and charge-off levels among the factors that could change its results.
