SACRAMENTO, Calif.–The Sacramento Valley Credit Union Network of the California Nevada Credit Union League (CCUL) welcomed economist, Sanjay Varshney for an economic forecast delivered at the headquarters of SAFE Credit Union.
More than 40 attendees from five area credit unions including SAFE, Golden1, Patelco, Sierra Central, and SchoolsFirst FCU, and Alliance Reverse Mortgage took part in this gathering to dive deeper into the state of the local economy and what the future holds for the region.
“We are experiencing an economic change that may create concern and uncertainty for our members. The SVCUN-CCUL wanted to give credit union representatives the opportunity to dive into these changes. Providing an economic forecast that would equip us with information to confidently serve our Members,” said Dalia Velazquez, SVCUN chair and branch manager of SchoolsFirst FCU’s Orangevale Branch.
In his presentation, Varshney explained the impact of inflation on the local economy stating that interest rates are among the biggest concerns for credit union Members due to the dramatic rate increases over the past year. He also shared that he believes this economy will be short-lived versus the great recession and predicted that “2024 will be a very strong earnings year for corporate America and a likely kick-off for a new expansion cycle.”
When asked specifically about credit unions and how to reassure people about the safety and stability of credit unions, Varshnay stated, “Credit unions always do the right thing when it comes to risk management and taking risks compared to other banks, so I have a lot more faith in the strength of credit unions than I can say about regional banks or larger banks.''