STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
General Assembly Meets for Organization Day
On Tuesday the newly elected members of the 2023-24 Indiana General Assembly met for a one-day meeting known as Organization Day. This legislative meeting is largely ceremonial, marked with a swearing-in ceremony for members. It is also marked by speeches from leadership regarding the coming year. Lawmakers will return the first week of January for the start to the 2023 legislative session.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Economic Concerns Causing U.S. Adults to Delay Major Financial Decisions
More than half of U.S. adults have delayed a major financial milestone such as buying a car or purchasing a house because of concerns about the state of the economy, according to a new survey by financial services website BankRate. The company polled more than 2,400 U.S. residents and found that 53% of respondents have delayed a major financial purchase, with the most common being home improvements or renovations (25%) followed by buying or leasing a car (21%) and buying a home (15%).
Gen Z and millennial respondents were the most likely to report putting off buying a car or home, with smaller percentages saying they have put off major life changes such as getting married and having children. Gen X and baby boomers were more likely to put off home renovations, although baby boomers were the only generation surveyed for which most respondents (54%) said they have made no changes.
Roughly three in five of all respondents (58%) have opted out of activities or events because of the economy, such as taking a vacation (37%); dining out with friends or family (28%); or going to an amusement park, zoo, aquarium or other attraction; or attending events such as concerts and plays (21%). Fifty-seven percent reported their quality of life has been negatively affected by the state of the economy, including 22% who indicated they’ve been “very” negatively affected.
New York Fed: Credit Cards Defy Credit Slowdown
Consumer credit demand declined in 2022 with most credit application rates stable or weakening, but a notable exception was a rise in credit card applications, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations Credit Access Survey, released Monday. The survey, which is fielded every four months, found that the application rates for any type of credit remained below pre-pandemic levels for those with credit scores below 680 but were higher for those with credit scores over 760.
The average application rate for credit in 2022 was 44.8%, down from 45.6% in 2021 and its pre-pandemic level of 45.8% in 2019, according to the survey. The reported rejection rate among applicants was 18%, up slightly from 17.5% in 2021 and 17.6% in 2019. The credit card application rate was an outlier, rising from 26.5% in October 2021 to 27.1% in October 2022. The average rejection rate for credit card applications in 2022 declined by 2.4 percentage points to 18.5%.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, households anticipated they will be less likely to apply for an auto loan, mortgage or mortgage refinance loan, but reported a higher average likelihood of applying for a credit card or credit card limit increase, according to the New York Fed. At the same time, consumers expect some easing in credit standards, reporting slightly lower average perceived likelihoods of a future credit application being rejected or conditional on applying.