DALLAS—New economic data shows consumer credit increased in September at the highest month-over-month pace since 1941.
That same report also indicates CUs are making the biggest inroads in auto lending, compared with other lenders.
The Federal Reserve reports U.S. consumer borrowing jumped by a record amount in September, driven higher by big gains in borrowing for automobiles and student loans, reported Brian Turner, executive director with Meridian Alliance.
“Consumer borrowing increased $28.9 billion, the largest one-month increase going back to 1941,” he said. “It followed a gain of $16 billion in August and pushed total consumer borrowing to an all-time high of $3.5 trillion. September's gain reflected a $22.2-billion increase in the category that covers auto loans and student loans and a $6.7-billion increase in credit card borrowing.”
After increasing at a 13.4% annualized pace through September 2015, credit union market share settled at 9.6%, up from 9.1% at the end of 2014. Revolving share was unchanged at 5.0%, but non-revolving share rose from 10.5% to 11.0%.
“This suggests credit unions have been attracting a bigger portion of the recent growth in demand for automobile financing as annualized vehicle sales nationally have risen from 17.2 million to 18.6 million units,” Turner said.