A staggering 25.5 percent of American consumers now have credit scores of 599 or below, according to statistics provided by Fico Inc., the founder of the Fico score.

That’s nearly 43.4 million Americans with subprime credit scores, meaning many can’t qualify for most mortgages or even auto leases, let alone get approved for a good credit card.

The data, based on consumer credit reports from April, revealed that 2.4 million more consumers have fallen into the lowest credit score categories in the past two years, based on Fico’s credit score range of 300-850.

Historically, just 15 percent, or 25.5 million of the 170 million Americans with active credit accounts have had credit scores below 599.

The share of those with moderate credit, between 650 and 699, is around 12 percent, below its historical average of 15 percent.

It’s a sign of the times, as days of easy credit have caught up with consumers, who now have no choice but to pay down credit balances or risk default.

Luckily that’s a bit easier thanks to the new credit card rules, which make anything more than the minimum payment actually go toward the highest APR balances.

A few years ago, it was easy to shift debt from one credit card to the next via balance transfers, or serially refinance using questionable mortgage programs that allowed homeowners to defer interest.

The big question is whether Fico will ease its scoring algorithm to reflect the tough economic times, or if banks and lenders will lower credit score requirements so more consumers are able to qualify for loans.

On the flip side, the share of consumers with credit scores of 800 or above (what I consider an excellent credit score) has risen from from its historic 13 percent average to nearly 18 percent over the past few years.

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