Delinquencies on consumer loans continued to rise at the end of the year, according to data released Thursday by the American Bankers Association.

The banking group said the delinquency rate during the fourth quarter of 2008 across multiple consumer loans increased to 3.22%. It is the highest delinquency rate since the ABA began tracking the data in the 1970s. The delinquency rate was 2.90% during the third quarter.

The FHA became the main source of home loans to borrowers with poor credit and low down payments after the subprime lending market’s collapse. It allows borrowers to take out home loans with a down payments of as low as 3.5%, compared with 20% for a typical loan that doesn’t require mortgage insurance.

FHA loans are made through by banks, insured by the government and sold as mortgage backed securities by Ginnie Mae, the government’s mortgage finance agency. The FHA currently backs around a third of new home loans, up from about 3% in 2006.