U.S. credit card defaults up, signal consumer stress

Tues Sept 15By Juan LagorioNEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the highest rates since the onset of the recession, a sign that the banks’ consumer lending woes are far from over.The trend was echoed among most other major credit card issuers, dashing optimism sparked when many banks and specialty finance companies reported lower default rates for July.“People have gotten very bullish with the July data, and (the