MADISON, Wis. – Lending grew at the nation’s credit unions by a slight 0.4% in May, the second straight positive month for credit union loan growth, after lending declined for the previous seven consecutive months, according to CUNA.
“Loans are still very weak but have moved in the right direction for two months in a row,” said Bill Hampel, chief economist for CUNA, which monitors credit union trends on a monthly basis.
Still, loan growth is down almost 0.7% for the first five months of 2011, after declining almost 1.4% last year.
CUNA’s Hampel said he thinks loan demand has turned the corner and will start picking up. The CUNA team of three economists is predicting positive loan growth for the year, of around 2%.
Share growth also remains tepid, falling by 0.7% in May, pushing year-to-date share growth down to 3.25%, compared to 3.70% for the first five months last year and 7.99% for the same period in 2009.
