Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Consumers Now Expecting Lower Inflation

Tue, 09 January 2024  |  economy 

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the December 2023 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows that inflation expectations declined at the short-, medium- and longer-term horizons. Notably, inflation expectations at the short-term horizon reached the lowest level recorded since January 2021. Earnings growth and spending growth expectations also decreased slightly to their lowest recorded levels since 2021, while expectations about credit access and households’ financial... Read More

Nearly Two Thirds of Americans are Waiting on Mortgage Rates to Drop Before Buying a Home

Tue, 06 June 2023  |  housing 

The latest BMO Real Financial Progress Index reveals current mortgage rates are keeping many Americans from buying a home with 64 percent saying they are waiting on rates to drop before entering the market. Adding to the rate sensitivity of buyers, only 6 percent of Americans who say they plan to purchase a home soon plan on doing so this summer.

Compared to a year ago, homebuyers are dealing with much higher costs of ownership due to a combination of elevated mortgage rates, persistently high home prices and limited inventory, leaving housing affordability near the most challenging l... Read More

Home Prices Remain Resilient

Thu, 01 June 2023  |  housing interest rates 

Pending home sales fell 17% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending May 28, one of the biggest declines since the start of the year. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That year-over-year drop is especially notable because pending sales had already started falling at this time last year as mortgage rates shot up past 5%.

Seasonally adjusted measures of homebuying demand show that it has also dipped in earlier stages of the house hunting journey. Mortgage-purchase applications and Redfin’s Homebuyer Dema... Read More

Personal Financial Management Becomes New Frontier for Bank and Credit Card Apps

Thu, 01 June 2023  |  banking credit cards technology 

After more than a decade of significant investment in mobile apps and websites, many U.S. banks and credit card providers have mastered the basics of digital transaction management and are now turning their attention to more advanced “super tools.” According to a series of recent studies of bank and credit card mobile app and online users, released today by J.D. Power, digital features focused on personal financial management have become the keys to standout customer engagement and customer satisfaction, but they’ve also introduced a new set of challenges.

The studies—J.D. Pow... Read More

Credit Union Loan Account Balances Rising

Thu, 01 June 2023  |  credit unions lending 

The newly released Q2 Credit Union Market Perspectives Report from TransUnion shows that stubbornly-high inflation continues to put pressure on the monthly budgets of consumers, credit union members among them. This has led to increasing reliance on credit cards and personal loans as borrowers seek ways to make ends meet.

“Credit union members are facing many of the same inflation-driven economic challenges as the overarching market,” said Sean Flynn, senior director of community financial institutions at TransUnion. “As a result, credit unions are seeing... Read More

End-to-End, Third-Party Operating Models Deployed by Wealth and Asset Managers Are Transforming the Industry

Thu, 01 June 2023  |  asset management 

After a long period of consistent profitability, the wealth and asset management sector is facing rising costs, shrinking margins, and intensifying consumer demands. Firms are looking for ways to accelerate their digital transformations, bring more of what their clients want to the table, and bolster assets under management—all in the most cost-efficient way. According to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and global end-to-e... Read More