ARLINGTON, Va.—Credit union leaders’ confidence in the economy and their own CUs improved in September, largely to levels seen prior to the health crisis, according to NAFCU’s latest Credit Union Sentiment Index (CUSI).
The index is based on NAFCU member responses to eight questions on growth and earnings outlook, lending conditions and regulatory burden.
The CUSI rebounded in September as declines in loan demand and regulatory burdens were offset elsewhere. Of note, the largest improvement was in the growth component, NAFCU stated.
Separately, NAFCU's latest Economic & CU Monitor, which can be found here, also dived into the NCUA’s examination trends and focus areas, which have generally remained consistent with observations from last year, NAFCU stated.
On average, the time between respondents' last two exams was 16 months, which was above the reported period of 14 months in 2020. As compared with last year's survey results, the duration of exams decreased from an average of 23 days to 22 days, which may reflect modest refinements in offsite exam procedures, NAFCU said.
Pandemic Influences
Notably, pandemic-related factors continue to exert influence over certain exam trends and priorities, according to the trade association. From an array of different examiner focus areas, the most frequently cited area of interest was administration of pandemic-related consumer relief programs, NAFCU said.
"NAFCU continues to advocate for a suite of modern examination improvements to afford credit unions greater flexibility and to ensure that exams are fair, efficient, and reasonably tailored to manage risk within the credit union system," noted the NAFCU research team.