ARLINGTON, Va.—Credit union leaders’ confidence in the economy and their own future continued to slide in April, with NAFCU’s Credit Union Sentiment Index (CUSI) falling to its lowest point on record.
The CUSI is based on NAFCU member responses to eight questions on growth and earnings outlook, lending conditions and regulatory burden.
The Index, NAFCU said, has now dropped into the “pessimistic” range. The growth score suffered the sharpest decline; however, a nearly even split between respondents with an optimistic growth outlook and those with a negative outlook remains, NAFCU said.
Respondents' expectations for regulatory burdens over the next 12 months was even more pessimistic than their assessment of the change in regulatory burden over the past 12 months.
Where the Focus is Now
"It is now clear that unemployment will rocket to levels which rival those of the Great Depression," wrote NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. "Interest now turns to the recovery, and its timing, vigor, and duration. With states beginning to reopen, data should rebound modestly, but demand-side anxieties will weigh on growth well into next year."
The Monitor also revealed that more than 80% of survey respondents' exam schedule had not been modified or postponed as the NCUA transitioned exams to a virtual process in light of the coronavirus pandemic.