ONTARIO, Calif.—Across a handful of local regions within 13 different geographies of California and Nevada, the pace of auto lending growth at many credit unions is either slowing down or growth is outright sliding into negative territory, the California and Nevada Leagues reported.
“Mortgages are mostly on the upswing, but home equity loans remain a mixed picture. Credit cards and personal loans are still growing to an extent, with some noticeable caveats,” the leagues stated.
A noticeable portion of California and Nevada-based credit unions' lending growth pipeline has been slowing down or even contracting over the past six – 12 months depending on the product and geography, while other categories have only slightly moderated or even stayed steady, according to the leagues.
“While not anticipated to enter into a recession anytime soon, local economies — intertwined with the business cycle — are affecting loan-and-deposit trends in unique ways,” the leagues said.
‘Trend is for Slow Decline’
“Interest rates falling again in 2019 and perhaps remaining low is likely to support mortgage lending and refinance in 2020,” said Dr. Robert Eyler, economist at Sonoma State University and board member of Redwood CU. “Auto lending may also see a slight bounce back up, but the trend is for a slow decline. In urban California and Nevada, mortgage loans may slow due to the relatively high housing prices and some buyer fatigue — but suburban and rural California and Nevada are forecasted to pick up that slack. At this stage of the economic cycle, the suburban and rural areas become the centers of new growth.”