WASHINGTON -- CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel is becoming thedarling of a number of economic reporters in the mainstream, whichis helping to thrust credit unions into the public eye.

Two articles appeared March 7 in separate publications citingHampel. An Associated Press wire article quoted Hampel discussingthe Federal Reserves latest consumer data. Consumer creditincreased 3.2% (annualized) in January, which was up from a drop of2.5% in December. "The high debt levels that many consumers arecarrying will be a factor governing their borrowing behavior,"Hampel told AP. "Some of the steam will be coming out of consumerspending."

A story also ran in MarketWatch on the same subject. While theFed's data do not include real estate debt, home equities remain apossibility for consumers, as rates have stayed low, it pointedout. "There is a huge amount of available untapped equity," Hampelwas quoted as saying in MarketWatch. However, he added thatconsumers are also trying to tighten their purse strings and havebeen aided by lower gas prices in January, where a lot of chargesare made.