DALLAS — The Credit Union Economics Group offered top officials from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank a bird's eye view on the credit union perspective in a recent meeting.
CUEG economists discussed the housing market and credit quality issues, credit union taxation, employment conditions and the group's economic outlook with Fed Bank President Richard W. Fisher and others from the bank.
"The purpose of the meeting was to provide the Federal Reserve current information on credit unions and exchange information of mutual interest," NAFCU Chief Economist and CUEG member Tun Wai explained. "This was the sixth meeting with the Federal Reserve for CUEG, and we appreciate the opportunity to discuss the unique role credit unions play in today's economy."
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During the informal meeting, CUNA Mutual Group Chief Economist and CUEG member Dave Colby told Fed staff, "CUEG forecasters see the economy expanding by 2.6% in 2007 with growth improving to just under 3% through 2008. Inflation is expected to remain stubbornly above the Fed's comfort zone, so CUEG sees little change in interest rates." He stated that the current CUEG forecast is less optimistic than previous outlooks, and there are sizable variations in forecasts, based on the geographic location of CUEG members.
CUEG members Kendrick Smith, chief investment officer for Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, and Bruce Beaudette, president of Sunmark Federal Credit Union, discussed the impact of employment conditions on credit unions. They cited significant variations by region, but noted bank consolidations provide credit unions with a pool of high quality management staff at reasonable costs.
Fed Bank officials participating in the meeting in addition to Fisher included Helen Holcomb, first vice president and chief operating officer; Bob Hankins, senior vice president of bank supervision; Tyrone Gholson, senior vice president of checks; Harvey Rosenblum, executive vice president and director of research; John Duca, senior economist; and Gloria V. Brown, vice president of public affairs. –[email protected]
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