MADISON, Wis.–CUNA’s economists say they are “very concerned” by several new economic findings, while simultaneously reporting a separate data point about credit unions that is surprisingly good.
“While there is a bit of uncertainty around the possibility and the size of additional fiscal stimulus, CUNA’s economists are very concerned about this situation,” said CUNA Vice President of Research and Policy Analysis Mike Schenk, adding new data released by the Census Bureau make clear why.
That new data, said Schenk, found just 48% of those in renter-occupied housing have “high confidence” they will be able to make their rent payment next month. In addition, 70% of those in owner-occupied housing have high confidence they will be able to make their mortgage payment next month, meaning nearly a third are less certain.
In addition, 45% of small business owners told the Census Bureau survey they believe it will be at least six months before their business returns to “normal” operating levels, and 10% said they don’t believe those levels will ever return.
Three Key Takeaways
The data is included in CUNA’s latest Monthly Credit Union Estimates, which Schenk said includes three key takeaways:
- It’s “very clear” credit unions continue to show ample liquidity, with an industry average 76.2% loan-to-share ratio.
- Asset quality remains quite high “at the moment. It may deteriorate going forward depending on those survey results, but at .52% the delinquency rate at credit unions is at the lowest level in the 30 years we have tracked this data.”
- Capital ratios have clearly stabilized as the inflow of savings has declined significantly. The CU industry average capital ratio is 10.5%.