LAS VEGAS-During the African-American Credit Union Council annual conference here, Credit Union Journal asked attendees where they think the economy is headed.
Larry Shelton, partner, Executive Field Services, Ontario, Calif.
It is less worse than it was, but the prime borrowing market is still bad. If you just read Wall Street Journal or [watch] Bloomberg, you have a different perspective than Main Street. The markets are going up as people anticipate recovery months from now, but consumer confidence is not completely back. I don't see recovery until the Third or fourth quarter of 2010.
Dave Prescher, partner, Executive Field Services, Ontario, Calif.
If the recovery was a nine-inning baseball game, we are only in the fourth inning. Unemployment is still high, and companies are less able to borrow to fund their businesses. It will be a slow grind. I'm positive on where we are going, but it will be a bumpy road ahead.
Sheilah Montgomery, president and CEO, 1st Choice CU, Atlanta
I think we are going to see a rebound, but it will be a slow rebound. It is good that it will be slow because we don't want to lose sight of infrastructure. By "infrastructure" I mean I am from the age of saving money and leaving an inheritance for the next generation. People lost their minds for a while, and we got away from that attitude. The house became our savings account.
I think all Americans understand the importance of building back the economy the right way. The savings rate at our credit union increased 10% over the last six months. Now I have to figure out how to lend that money out!
Robert Jackson, president and CEO, First Delta FCU, Marks, Miss.
From all indications, we are pretty much bottoming out for the next quarter, then there will be an upswing. I hope unemployment starts decreasing soon. In any case, people are feeling better about the economy. Those who had the ability financially have been saving and retiring debt. The Cash For Clunkers program is a good idea.
I expect a recovery by the second quarter or the third quarter of 2010. As financial institutions, we just need to hold on until the recovery comes.
Ed Presnell, VP of administrative services, SRP FCU, North Augusta, S.C.
I think it is turning favorably. From all I can tell or hear, we've about bottomed out. If the country can keep moving employment higher, we'll be okay.
In our area we are in good shape. We have a fairly vibrant business environment. Our credit union is holding only eight houses in foreclosure, which isn't many out of $500 million in assets. Of course, we didn't get involved in subprime or risky lending. This conference, by the way, is excellent and offers high-quality workshops.
Sharon Saulters, president, Triumph FCU, Philadelphia
It is headed up. We've gone through the rough times and we've bottomed out. We are a faith-based credit union, and we are a small credit union, but we've seen more loan activity recently. We are about 80% loaned out and are looking for money to do more loans. We don't do housing loans, but a lot of our members lost their houses because they lost their jobs. Auto loans are our main business.
