FORT WORTH, Texas-Credit unions are off to a good start in 2012, but there's a lot of uncertainty brewing.
"It's a tough call on how the second half of 2012 will shake out," said Eli Vazquez, SVP/CFO of American Airlines FCU. "Were off to a good start, with healthy loan growth strong demand on vehicle loans and mortgages and more confidence among members. Plus, you see charge-offs stabilizing. So why is it a tough call? This is still a very delicate, tepid recovery, and there are still a lot of big barriers that need to be resolved, especially the crisis in Europe. It seemed to be subdued, and now it's blowing up again."
There's also uncertainty at home, he said. "Another big risk item out there is the fiscal cliff. If there's no agreement in Congress about how to cut the deficit, that will trigger automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, and that could be a material hit to the economy. Couple that with election year posturing, and that could derail this tepid recovery."
Vazquez, who is also a member of CU Economics Group, said that what will help credit unions weather the storm is providing exceptional value to members.
"Credit unions must take steps to return value to members," he said. "And that means not just chasing a fad or a temporary promotion, but returning value to members every single day."
