NEW YORK, April 18 Reuters Consumers are starting to fall behind on their credit card and loan payments as the economy softens, according to executives at the biggest U.S. banks, although they said delinquency levels were still modest.

Profits at Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase Co, Wells Fargo Co and Citigroup Inc beat analyst forecasts as lending giants earned a windfall from rising interest rates. But industry chiefs warned that the strength would tail off this year as a recession looms and customer delinquencies climb.

We39;ve seen some consumer financial health trends gradually weakening from a year ago, Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo said on a conference call Friday to discuss its first quarter results.

While delinquencies and net chargeoffs debt owed to a bank that is unlikely to be recovered have slowly risen as expected, consumers and businesses generally remain strong, the bank39;s CEO Charlie Scharf said.

The company set aside 1.2 billion in the first quarter to cover potential soured loans.

Citigroup also made larger provisions for credit losses even as it brought in more revenue from clients39; interest payments on credit cards.

Delinquency rates were rising as anticipated, but still stood below normal levels in the bank39;s very high quality loan portfolio, said Mark Mason, the bank39;s finance chief.

We have tightened credit standards specifically as a result of the current market environment in cards, we continue to…