Gen Z borrowers took the biggest hit of any age group this year, helping pull overall credit scores lower in the worst year for U.S. consumer credit quality since the global financial crisis roiled the world’s economy.

The average FICO score slipped to 715 in April from 717 a year earlier, marking the second consecutive year-over-year drop, according to a report released Tuesday by Fair Isaac Corp. The average score dropped three points to 687 in 2009.

Gen Z borrowers saw the largest drop, not only this year, but of any age group since 2020, with their average score falling three points to 676, the Montana-based creator of the FICO credit score said.

FICO scores are a measure of consumer credit risk and are frequently used by U.S. banks to assess whether to provide loans. The scores typically range from 300 to 850.

The credit scoring agency attributed the recent overall drop to higher rates of utilization and delinquency, including the resumption of reporting student loan delinquencies — a category that hit a record high of 3.1% of the entire scorable population.

Some 34% of Gen Zers are still paying of their student loans, compared to just 17% of the total population, according to the report. The cohort was also most likely to see their scores fall dramatically, with 14 percent of the group having a score decrease of 50 points or more, compared to 10% of the total population.

While the overall average score dropped, the median FICO score continued to rise to 745 from 744 a year ago, indicating that a large drop in scores at the low end dragged down the average.

Meanwhile, within the Amounts Owed category of the FICO score, credit card utilization continued to rise. Utilization, calculated as credit card balances divided by credit limits, reached to 35.5% after hitting a low of 29.6% April 2021, “when the personal savings rate increased because of government stimulus and pandemic-era travel and entertainment restrictions,” according to the report.

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