RIVERWOODS, Ill.-Consumers banking with credit unions are more confident in the current economy year-over-year, according to data from the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor.
But even though credit union members were more optimistic than their bank customer counterparts about the economy in general, they are less sanguine about their own personal finances than they were this time last year, the same research showed.
Among the findings:
* Credit union members who rated the economy as "excellent" or "good" in January 2013 increased four percentage points from the same time period last year, to 15%. By comparison, 14% of non-credit union members rated the economy the same way, also a fou-percentage-point change.
* The number of credit union members who rated the economy as "poor" decreased to 45%, an eight-point change year-over-year.
* In January 2013, credit union members who expect the economy to get "better" fell by three points to 32%, versus the same time period last year. This also represents a seven-point decline over the quarter, from 39% in November 2012.
* The number of credit union members who expect the economy to stay the "same" increased quarterly, from 10% in November 2012 to 15% in January 2013.
* Credit union members who rated their personal finances as "excellent" or "good" decreased one percentage point year-over-year in January, to 37%. This is also a four-percentage-point decline quarterly, from November 2012, Discover said.
* Non-credit union members with the same rating of "excellent" or "good" increased three points to 34% in January, compared with the same time period last year.
* The number of credit union members who believe their personal finances are getting "better" fell four points year-over-year to 24%, while non-credit union members with this expectation increased three percentage points annually, to 23%.
* More than half of credit union members (52%) expect to have money left after paying bills this month, compared to 44% of non-credit union members.
For info: www.rasmussenreports.com or www.discover.com.
