More student loan borrowers are behind on their credit card bills and loans than before the pandemic, and they are paying more because of rising interest rates, a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found. The rising delinquencies mean that more borrowers will be at risk of defaulting when payments turn back on later this summer after a three-year pause. Nearly 20 percent of borrowers, about 5.9 million, have two or more risk factors that indicate they’ll struggle with making their student loan payments. That’s up from the estimated 5.1 million borrowers who were at risk in April 2022.
