By James Chessen, ABA chief economist “Robust loan growth was the driving factor behind another strong quarter for America’s banking industry. Lending served as the primary driver of the growth in bank assets as the bread and butter of banking moves to center stage. Banks are well prepared to manage what is expected to be
FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions earned $40.4 billion in the third quarter, 5.1 percent higher than the industry’s earnings a year ago, the FDIC said today.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index declined for a second straight month in November to a reading of 90.4, down from 99.1 in October and 102.6 in September. The Present Situation Index also decreased for a second month to 108.1, down from 114.6 in October and 120.3 in September. The Expectations Index saw a third
The 20-City Case-Shiller Composite gained 5.5 percent year-over-year in September, up from August’s gain of 5.1 percent. The 10-City Composite gained 5.0 percent from the previous year, up from a 4.7 percent annual increase last month. The National Index posted a 4.9 percent annual increase, compared to a 4.6 percent increase in August. On a
Real GDP for the third quarter grew at an annual rate of 2.1 percent according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s second estimate. GDP was upwardly revised from the first estimate of 1.5 percent growth, but is down from the growth rate of 3.9 percent during the second quarter. The third quarter’s slower growth partly
Existing home sales fell 3.4 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.36 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), down from a rate of 5.55 million in September. Existing home sales are now 3.9 percent higher than the year ago level. Total housing inventory fell 2.3 percent to 2.14 million
For banks tightening business credit, most cite the economic outlook and problems specific to industries, such as oil and gas, as key reasons.
In the minutes of their October 27 – 28th Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Fed officials outlined their decision to hold off on raising the federal funds rate. Nearly all members agreed that even though job gains had slowed over the intermeeting period, indicators showed that underutilization of labor resources had diminished, and that
Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.060 million, 11.0 percent below the revised September estimate of 1.191 million, and 1.8 percent below the October 2014 rate. Housing starts have remained above 1 million for 7 consecutive months. Housing activity was mixed across regions, rising 10.2 percent in the Northeast and 15.0
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) declined three points to 62 in November, after reaching a 10-year high in October. Two of the three index components posted losses in November. Sales expectations fell five points to 70 and current sales conditions declined three points to 67. Buyer traffic rose one