Signs are cautiously pointing to an economic recovery nationwide. The national unemployment rate fell by one percentage point in the past year, and even in the hardest hit sand states, job outlook statistics improved. Between December 2009 and January 2010, the unemployment rate trickled down from 10.4% to 9.6% in Arizona and from 14.5% to 14.2% in Nevada.
Do these hopeful numbers mean an uptick in home and auto purchases in the sand states and thus an improvement in credit union loan performance? Not particularly, credit union executives say. Sand state credit union CEOs report stability and slight improvements in overall loan performance, an increased demand for first-mortgage loans and a decline in consumer loan activity.
“The Nevada economy has been very stable but at a weak level,” said Brad Beal, president/CEO of the $690 million Nevada FCU. “There has been no material change, and home values have bounced up and down. We're pretty much stuck in neutral.”
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
