Credit Unions may be member owned, but that doesn’t mean members are exempt from fees. A research note from the NCUA (January 16, 2025), disclosed two major findings. 1) In spite of many credit unions reducing or eliminating certain fees,…
Problems Persist in Commercial Loans
Over the last four weeks, we have examined different types of loans and how they are performing at our nation’s banks, particularly since all levels of past due loans have been on the rise. While we did discover some weakness…
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…