While the degree of optimism varies, a sampling of perspectives from business lending CUSOs suggests an economic upturn may be underway. One sign of how widespread member business lending has become can be seen from figures provided by the Regional CUSO Alliance, which is a collaboration of business lending CUSOs. The group represents 16 regional business lending CUSOs involving 330 credit unions and an aggregate loan portfolio of $2.5 billion.**** Read More: Business Lending Gains May Come From Fresh Capital Seekers:
By Ray Birch MILWAUKEE—Auto lending is emerging as one of the biggest areas of risk for credit unions, even as the broader U.S. economy continues to perform better than many expected, according to Bill Handel, chief economist at Raddon, a Fiserv company. Delinquency trends in auto portfolios are now approaching levels last seen during the Great Financial Crisis, Handel said, driven by a combination of high vehicle prices, elevated interest rates and increasing financial pressure on lower-income consumers. “There’s probably still a lot of risk in the auto portfolios,” Handel said. “Our numbers in terms of delinquency behavior in the United States are now rivaling what they were during the Great Financial Crisis.” Economy Holding Up Better Than Expected Despite those pockets of risk, Handel said the broader economy remains surprisingly resilient. “If you look at the U.S. economy, it’s actually performing quite well—probably better than most people would have anticipated,” he said. ...
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