WASHINGTON — Credit bureau TransUnion reports that the average credit score fell six points from the third quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009, and one expert suggests that trend won't reverse any time soon.
Processing Content
In fact, NAFCU Economist Tun Wai suggested that credit scores will likely fall even more and will linger as the nation's unemployment rate peaks and then only slowly returns to normal.
"If your unemployment rate is rising and continues to rise, it takes awhile until your membership goes back to normal," he said. "If this deterioration continues your pool of member-borrowers will get worse."
Of course, given that every market is different, CUs must pay even closer attention to its portfolio and pool of potential borrowers.
