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Delinquency buckets: 1-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+ explained
A delinquency bucket is a band of DPD. Instead of tracking every loan at 17 days or 43 days, you group them: current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+. Buckets make a book easy to read, and they line up with how regulators and accountants think about stress.
The standard buckets
| Bucket | DPD | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Current | 0 | Nothing overdue |
| 1-30 | 1 to 30 | Early delinquency. Many cure on their own |
| 31-60 | 31 to 60 | Real stress. Collections are active |
| 61-90 | 61 to 90 | Close to default |
| 90+ | 91 and above, or 90 and above | Default or NPA territory |
Look at the last row. Some teams use 'more than 90', others use '90 or more'. A loan at exactly 90 DPD falls in different buckets under the two rules. Choose one and write it down.
How buckets link to regulation and accounting
- RBI SMA categories: SMA-0 is overdue 1 to 30 days, SMA-1 is 31 to 60 and SMA-2 is 61 to 90. Beyond 90 the account is NPA. Confirm against the current RBI circular.
- Ind AS 109 staging: a significant rise in credit risk is presumed at 30 DPD and default at 90 DPD. The presumptions can be rebutted with evidence, and your own policy decides the details.
This is why 30 and 90 are the two edges that get the most attention.
Count or balance?
You can report buckets by number of loans or by outstanding balance. The two can tell different stories. A few large loans moving into 61-90 hardly changes the count but moves the balance a lot. Show both.
Reading a bucket table
- Is the current bucket shrinking? That is the first warning.
- Is 1-30 growing faster than 90+? Early stress is building.
- Is 90+ growing while 1-30 is flat? Old problems are not being resolved.
- Compare the same month across years to remove seasonality.
Try it on your own tables
The free tools give you the prompt, the checks and how to present the result. You enter table names only.
See the free toolsFrequently asked questions
What are the standard delinquency buckets?
Current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+ days past due. Some lenders add 120+ or 180+ for long-dated products.
What is the difference between SMA and delinquency buckets?
SMA categories are the RBI's early-warning labels for overdue accounts (SMA-0, SMA-1, SMA-2). Delinquency buckets are your own internal bands. They often use the same edges, but check how each one treats the boundary days.
Should buckets be by count or by balance?
Report both. Count shows how many borrowers are late. Balance shows how much money is at risk.
Keep reading
What is DPD (days past due) and how to calculate it
DPD counts how many days a loan is overdue. Learn the rule, a worked example with several instalments, and the mistakes that make DPD wrong.
PortfolioRoll rate analysis: how to read a roll-rate matrix
A roll-rate matrix shows where loans in each bucket end up next month. Learn to build one, read it, and use it to forecast how many loans reach 90+.