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Consumer Debt Shows Remarkable Resilience

Aggregate household debt is quickly approaching the $18 trillion mark, with balances $3.8 trillion higher today than just before the pandemic. While the majority of that increase falls into mortgage categories, roughly $65 billion was incurred via non-housing related consumer…

Home Sales Drop to Lowest Level in 29 Years

Not only did home sales drop to their lowest level in nearly 30 years, but first time home-buyers represented just 24% of home sales last year. That is the lowest % ever recorded. That, combined with growth in the amount…

Problem Loans: a New Unwanted Guest in the Heartland

The Covid Pandemic has been over for several years now, but some areas are just beginning to feel the long-term effects of fewer customers and higher expenses. Nationwide, all categories of problem loans ticked up over the 12-month period that…

U.S. Bank Branches are Down… and Up

It sounds like a riddle, but in fact, the U.S. lost more than 900 bank branches during calendar 2024 according to FDIC data. According to that same FDIC data, more than 900 new bank branches opened their doors as well. Strange perhaps,…

Largest Bank Acquisitions of 2024

Not including banks acquired by credit unions, more than 75 banks, with assets exceeding $70 billion, were lost to other banks during calendar year 2024. Nearly 70% of the acquired assets are represented in the top 10, which are noted…

What Will Happen to CD Rates in 2025?

The Fed’s latest dot plot suggests we could end 2025 with the Fed Funds rate under 4%. You guessed it. CD rates will closely follow. Forecasts beyond 1 year are less reliable, but still suggest that more easing will be…

Christmas Price Index Noses Out Consumer Price Index

It’s hard to believe, but another year is about to be behind us. Before it goes, we’d like to revisit (as we do every year) the PNC Bank CPI (Christmas Price Index). It’s a whimsical take on the 12 Days of…

New Credit Union Star Ratings and Data Now Available

All star-ratings (banks and credit unions) have now been updated based on September 30, 2024 financial data. Two items really stood out in the new credit union data: a rise in delinquencies and charge-offs as well as an indication that…

Community Banks ARE Lending, New Bank Star-Ratings

We’ve been hard at work at Bauer (not just eating turkey and watching football) updating bank star-ratings based on September 30, 2024 financial data. We expect to have credit union ratings out shortly. In the meantime, let’s talk about how…

7 Tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim This Season

If you are shopping online this season, the FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a division of Homeland Security) have some suggestions on how to keep your personal information safe from “want-to-be-thieves”. It is good advice for anytime of…

Blog (page 2)

Consumer Debt Shows Remarkable Resilience

Home Sales Drop to Lowest Level in 29 Years

Problem Loans: a New Unwanted Guest in the Heartland

U.S. Bank Branches are Down… and Up

Largest Bank Acquisitions of 2024

What Will Happen to CD Rates in 2025?

Christmas Price Index Noses Out Consumer Price Index

New Credit Union Star Ratings and Data Now Available

Community Banks ARE Lending, New Bank Star-Ratings

7 Tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim This Season

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