PLANO, Texas– The confidence level of credit union CEOs in the economy has rebounded.
Catalyst Corporate FCU is reporting its CEO Confidence Index bounced up in the second quarter after see-sawing up and down the previous four quarters. In the Second Quarter 2015 Credit Union Confidence Survey, the Index registered 31.46, up from 30.22 in the first quarter. The Present Situation Index increased from 28.70 last quarter to 31.08 this quarter, while the Expectations Index advanced to 31.66 from 30.99 in first quarter.
“The uptick in CEO confidence makes sense, as some strong economic numbers have been released since the first quarter that have had a positive financial impact on credit unions – namely vehicle and home sales,” said Steven Houle, vice president of Catalyst Strategic Solutions’ Advisory Service, in a released statement.
Houle pointed to strong U.S. auto sales and existing home sales, as well as projections that lending will only grow stronger as reasons for the increased CEO confidence.
More Confident About Members
Meanwhile, CEOs’ assessment of members’ current financial condition increased from 25.25 in the first quarter to 27.09 in the most recent survey. Confidence in their own institutions’ current financial condition also climbed from 32.16 the first quarter to 35.05 in the second quarter survey.
CEOs’ optimism about the short-term economic outlook improved, as well, Catalyst Corporate reported. The percentage of CEOs’ expecting members’ financial condition to improve over the next six months rose from 28.79 to 29.66. Optimism about their own institutions’ financial condition in the next half of the year also jumped from 38.64 to 41.91.
Expectations regarding loan demand over the next six months increased to 32.51 after registering 31.12 last quarter. Anticipation for share deposit growth over the next six months declined to 22.55 from 25.38 in the first quarter.
Catalyst Corporate’s quarterly confidence survey – started a decade ago – was sent to 2,063 credit union CEOs across the nation in July 2015; 204 credit union professionals responded, for a response rate of 9.9%.
Using a scale ranging from negative (-100) to positive (+100), respondents registered their confidence levels in six key areas to create an overall index, as well as a snapshot of present-day feelings and future expectations. The areas CEOs were asked to evaluate are:
- Current financial condition of members
- Current financial condition of credit union
- Anticipated financial condition of members in six months
- Anticipated financial condition of credit union in six months
- Anticipated loan demand at the credit union in six months
- Anticipated share deposit growth at the credit union in six months
A look at the historical performance of the CEO Confidence Index is below.