Figures from the New York Fed are balances outstanding, not sale prices. Bands cited from DebtMarket’s pricing study are conversation ranges, not offers. This note is education for operating companies and creditors. It is not legal advice.
Buyers bid a percent of unpaid principal. The percent moves because of a few facts. A larger face with worse facts does not deserve a higher percent. It often deserves a lower one, or a pass.
The facts that move the percent
| Fact | Direction |
|---|---|
| Product | Cards, auto deficiencies, and medical bills do not share a band. |
| Charge-off window | Newer charge-offs, with less prior work, sit higher than paper that has already been placed for years. |
| Media percent | A checked percent sits higher than “media on request.” |
| States and exclusions | A named mix the buyer can work is priceable. Hidden exclusions are a later cut. |
| Title | A complete chain supports a bid. A gap supports a pass. |
The credit-card conversation range on this desk is 3 to 8 percent of face. It is published in the pricing study as a discussion band. It is not an offer and it is not a census of trades. A file-specific read is a valuation review. The factor guide is debt portfolio valuation.
Household balances are not sale prices
The New York Fed reported $18.8 trillion in household debt and $1.26 trillion in credit card balances for the second quarter of 2026. Those numbers describe what consumers owe. A sale price is a percent of a defined charged-off pool. Do not divide one by the other and call it a market.
Two files, same face, different percent
Both tapes show $5 million of bankcard principal. File A charged off in 2025, media on 85 percent, twelve states the buyer named, originator is the seller. File B charged off in 2021, media on 40 percent, prior agency placement, and the seller’s name is not on the assignment. A single asking price for both is not a valuation. File A can be discussed inside the card band. File B needs title before it is discussed at all.
Each fact moves the conversation in a direction
A valuation names the direction. It does not print a bid. On a credit-card file, the conversation range on this desk is 3 to 8 percent of unpaid principal at cut-off, from the pricing study. The range is a discussion band. Inside it, a newer charge-off window, a high share of rows whose statements open, an originator who is the seller, and a state list the buyer already works are facts that support a discussion toward the higher part of the band. An older window, a failed media pull, a missing assignment, or a large share of states the buyer will not take are facts that support a lower discussion or a pass.
| Fact on the file | How the conversation moves |
|---|---|
| Charge-off window in the last year, originator is the seller | Higher in the product’s band, after the sample |
| Media pull matches the flag | The flag can be used. The pull is the evidence |
| Older window, prior agency placement | Lower in the band, with the placement history disclosed |
| Chain of title has a gap | Pass, or price only the IDs the schedule covers |
| Product mix in one face amount | Split the tape, then value each product |
Face is the denominator
Five million dollars of unpaid principal discussed at 4 percent is two hundred thousand dollars. That arithmetic is an illustration of how a percent becomes dollars. It is not an offer, and 4 percent is not a typical trade. Household balances from the New York Fed are the stock of debt consumers owe. They do not convert into a sale price. A human read of one snapshot is a valuation review. The factor guide is debt portfolio valuation.