DALLAS — After hitting an all-time low, credit union CEOs have shown a sharp uptick in their views on the economy's prospects.
But Southwest Corporate, which released the findings as part of its ongoing CEO Confidence Index, acknowledges it remains uncertain how any future corporate-related assessments will affect CEOs' brightened outlook.
During the second quarter, CEOs ranked their confidence as a 24.54 on a scale that ranges from -100 to +100. That's up sharply from the 7.90 in the first quarter of 2009, the lowest ever recorded. In the five-year history of the survey, CEO confidence reached its peak of 46.79 in the second quarter of 2004.
"The survey mirrors other national and regional assessments," said Brian Turner, Southwest Corporate's director of advisory services. "Pockets of the country have experienced a decline in economic freefall, primarily as a result of stabilized home values, while others have seen slight improvement."
Turner theorized that the improved outlook may be a "correction" of the dismal perception CEOs have had over the past few quarters as a result of declining margins, rising NCUSIF premiums and special assessment charges diluting their capitalization. "So, whereas most of the CEOs renewed optimism comes from the hope that their institutions and the markets in general may have the worst behind them, let's pray that it is not just post-traumatic stress syndrome."
