BANKING AND FINANCE

Loan Delinquency Levels Rise: The percentage of consumers behind in their loan payments increased in the fourth quarter of 1994 for the first time in nearly three years, a trade group said. A seasonally adjusted 1.72% of consumer loans were 30 or more days past due at the end of the year, up from 1.66% three months earlier but still less than the 1.77% at the close of 1993, the American Bankers Assn. said. The eight types of loans included in the rate are auto loans made directly by banks, auto loans purchased by banks from other lenders, personal loans, second mortgages, home improvement loans, recreational vehicle loans, mobile home loans and boat loans. Education loans, open-end home equity lines of credit, bank cards and revolving credit are tracked separately.