From Creighton's Heider College of Business, April 16:
April Survey Results at a Glance:
- Overall index falls to lowest level since beginning survey in January 2006.
- More than nine of 10 bank CEOs expect the coronavirus to push their local area into a recession.
- Approximately
94% of bankers reported a decline in client or customer visits over the
past two weeks as a result of the coronavirus.
- Almost
one-third, or 30.3%, indicated that their bank had experienced higher
loan delinquency rates resulting from the coronavirus threat.
- U.S.
Department of Labor’s reported initial claims for unemployment benefits
for the last two weeks for the nine-state region, urban plus rural,
were 1,226,370 which was a 29-fold expansion from the same period in
2019.
OMAHA, Neb. (April 16, 2020) - The
Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) plummeted in April to
its lowest level since beginning the survey in January 2006. According
to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region
dependent on agriculture and/or energy, this represented the second
straight record low with a reading well below growth neutral.
Overall: The
overall index for April slumped to 12.1 from 35.5 in March. April’s
decline represents the largest one month fall since the survey was
initiated in January 2006.
“More than nine of 10 bank CEOs expect the
coronavirus to produce a recession in their market area. This is up
significantly from March when 61.3 percent of bankers anticipated such a
recession,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional
Economics at Creighton University's
Heider College of Business.
Jim Eckert, president of Anchor State Bank in
Anchor, Illinois, reported, “Low commodity prices and the Wuhan Chinese
virus are major concerns. The economy will suffer for a long time due to
the shutdown.”
Approximately 94%, of bankers reported a decline in
client or customer visits over the past two weeks as a result of the
coronavirus. Almost one-third, or 30.3%, indicated that their bank had
experienced higher loan delinquency rates resulting from the coronavirus
threat over the same two-week period.
Farming and ranching:
Farmland prices continue to slide. April’s reading fell to 40.9 from
March’s 46.6. This is the 76th time in the past 77 months the index has
been below growth neutral.
The April farm equipment-sales index dropped to 20.0
from 37.5 in March. This marks the 79th month straight month that the
reading has remained below growth neutral 50.0....
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