Late payments rose on home equity loans, mobile home loans and home equity lines-of-credit during the most recent quarter, according to a banking trade group. But, compared to a year earlier, mobile home delinquency improved.

Home-equity loan delinquency was 2.15 percent during the first quarter, according to the American Bankers Association's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Late payments increased from 1.92 percent during the fourth quarter and 1.94 percent a year earlier.

Delinquent HELOC borrowers were 0.60 percent -- the lowest of any category, ABA said. HELOC lates were up slightly from 0.57 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.55 percent a year earlier.

Property improvement loan delinquencies rose to 1.61 percent from 1.29 percent in the fourth quarter, ABA said. A year earlier, 1.42 percent of these borrowers were delinquent.

First quarter mobile home delinquency was 2.94 percent, rising from 2.82 percent, the report indicated. In the same quarter a year earlier though, mobile home delinquency was 3.37 percent.

"Slow job growth, falling home prices and weak economic growth helped to worsen consumers' financial position overall," ABA said.

ABA said its composite ratio, which tracks eight closed-end installment loan categories, was 2.42 percent in the first quarter, rising from 2.23 percent the prior period. During the first quarter 2006, the composite ratio was just 1.94 percent.

"There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy," ABA chief economist James Chessen said in the statement.