Credit card applications and much more
Decreased credit limits mean a higher debt to credit ratio for those who carry balances. Credit scores will be adversely affected by that. More consumers are having to turn to credit cards for bad credit, as a result of the recession and more stringent requirements set forth by banks. Credit cards for bad credit usually come with high interest rates and fees. This often leads to the accumulation of more debt, since it is more difficult to pay down actual balances with those high rate cards.