Household debt in the US has hit a record high, for the first time passing the peak from which it tumbled in 2008 as the global financial crisis took hold.

Total household indebtedness rose 1.2% in the first quarter of 2017 to hit $12.73 trillion, surpassing its Q3 2008 peak of $12.68 trillion, according to figures published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (figure 1).

The largest chunk of the debt remains in mortgages, though auto loans and student debt have shown marked rises in