The Great Recession: 10 years out and looking ahead
With a decade of hindsight in the bank, what have credit unions learned from the Great Recession, and are they ready for the next one?
June 2009 marked the official end of the Great Recession and the beginning of an outstanding period of economic recovery. The Great Recession was the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and the decade since has been the strongest period of growth in the history of the American credit union movement.
So, what’s next? No one can predict exactly where the economy will go; however, markets and economies run cycles, and economists agree a recession is likely within the next couple of years.
Credit unions have thrived during the past decade by capitalizing on what they do best: delivering competitive rates and superior service and, in many cases, lending to those turned away by for-profit institutions.
Now, the industry is facing a new set of imperatives. The competition has grown, both in numbers and intensity, and credit unions can no longer rely simply on their cachet as “non-banks”.
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