Credit Union CEO Confidence Improves: Catalyst

Credit union CEO confidence continues to rebound based on the results released today from Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union’s Fourth Quarter 2014 Credit Union CEO Confidence Survey.

Catalyst’s CEO Confidence Index now stands at 32.64, up from 31.29 in the third quarter of 2014. The fourth quarter mark is slightly ahead of the 2014 annual average of 31.80, the highest annual average since 2007.

“The factors that caused CEO confidence to deteriorate during that time are fairly obvious,” said Steven Houle, vice president of Advisory Services at Catalyst Strategic Solutions, part of Catalyst Corporate FCU. “That was the beginning of the Great Recession. All financial institutions – and most American consumers – were affected negatively.”

Catalyst Corporate’s confidence index first headed south in the fourth quarter of 2007, plunging from 39.27 to 23.80. The index did not rise above 30 again until the first quarter of 2014. CEO confidence recovery aligns well with the economy overall, Houle noted.