Page 26 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

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FREEDOM CREDIT UNION
1976 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103 (413) 739-6961; www.freedom.coop
MASSMUTUAL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
1295 State St., Springfield, MA 01111 (413) 744-3431; www.massmutualfcu.org
LUSO FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
599 East St., Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 589-9966; www.lusofederal.com
ALDEN CREDIT UNION
710 Grattan St., Chicopee, MA 01020 (413) 536-0475; www.aldencu.com
PIONEER VALLEY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
246 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104 (413) 733-2800; www.pioneervalley.coop
PREMIER SOURCE CREDIT UNION
232 North Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (413) 525-2002; www.bankatpremiersource.com
CREDIT UNIONS
RANKED BY TOTAL ASSETS
CREDIT UNONS
ASSETS
POLISH NATIONAL CREDIT UNION
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Interest
Continued from page 20
594,216,624
417,266,652
99,375,252
104,148,974
97,548,765
39,630,969
8,323,325
slow a little bit, but businesses still make investments in property and equipment. But if it goes rapidly, it’s kind of an unknown. ‘Will this impact my business? Should I open that location? Will there be no business in six months?’ It makes businesses hesitant.”
On the other hand, people more focused on sav- ing money than borrowing it may find the rate hikes a breath of fresh air, even if savings interest still lags behind interest on loans.
“How quickly you’ll see higher APYs on deposits depends on where you bank,” Forbes notes. “Online banks, smaller banks, and credit unions typically offer more attractive yields than big banks and have gener- ally been increasing rates faster because they have to compete more for deposits.”
Day agreed that competition puts pressure on banks to raise deposit interest rates, while the gains are most prevalent in the CD market. “You can get 4%, where years ago, it was hard to get 25 basis points.
“So rising rates are generally beneficial to consum- ers who save money,” he added. “Borrowers usually don’t like them, but retirees on a fixed income might have assets in investments, and rising rates should help them have alternative ways to earn more money. So there’s two sides to this.”
567,174,127
574,623,162
222,697,845
199,710,285
119,105,705
77,035,423
24,879,250
Stay Tuned
James Kelly
Richard Kump
Jennifer St. Peter
Michael Murphy
Michael Ostrowski
Michelle Dwyer
Nancy Canino
46 Main St., Chicopee, MA 01020 (413) 592-9495; www.pncu.com
UMASSFIVE COLLEGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
200 Westgate Center Dr., Hadley, MA 01035 (413) 256-5500; www.umassfive.coop
GREATER SPRINGFIELD CREDIT UNION
1030 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01109 (413) 782-3161; www.grscu.org
HOLYOKE CREDIT UNION
490 Westfield Road, Holyoke, MA 01040 (413) 532-7007; www.holyokecu.com
ARRHA CREDIT UNION
145 Industry Ave., Springfield, MA 01104 (413) 732-9812; www.arrhacu.com
FRANKLIN FIRST FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
57 Newton St., Greenfield, MA 01301 (413) 774-6700; www.franklinfirst.org
MYCOM FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
101 Fenn St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 442-6501; www.mycomcu.org
$1,556,797,252
705,019,055
649,826,144
631,422,683
355,218,210
256,133,037
247,880,066
242,197,205
195,963,362
139,770,955
132,348,953
83,760,493
71,914,729
27,663,581
LOANS
$1,081,768,515
446,172,680
192,974,654
196,408,609
128,778,058
90,814,285
29,953,969
SHARES
$1,386,488,892
526,849,581
316,333,218
220,178,542
176,299,820
110,200,321
62,582,171
PRESIDENT/CEO
GREYLOCK FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
150 West St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 236-4000; www.greylock.org
John Bissell
Glenn Welch
David Plantier
Jennifer Calheno
Adam Corcoran
Anabela Grenier
Bonnie Raymond
rates have simply returned to pre-pandemic levels, which are
historically on the low side.
“In terms of absolute levels, and in view of history,
current interest rates are still at attractive levels,” said Mike Kraft, head of CRE Treasury at JPMorgan Chase. “Generally, I would say this is a great time to do busi- ness — before additional rate movements kick in.”
However, while historical trends favor current bor- rowers, people tend to think in the short term, and any rate increase dampens enthusiasm to borrow
— which, after all, is the Fed’s intention: to slow the economy.
“Borrower behavior is always impacted by ris-
ing rates,” Day said. “People just tend to borrow less money, unless you’re in the credit-card business, which we’re not. We deal with mortgages and com- mercial loans, and borrowers are more hesitant as rates rise; they don’t want to commit until they have to. As rates rise, what happens is businesses take less risks — they don’t necessarily build or open that next location. Borrowing definitely declines as rates rise faster.
“In a perfect world, if it’s done at a moderate pace, nobody gets hurt too badly,” he went on. “It might
The bottom line is that inflation is the highest it’s been since the early ’80s, and that makes everyone skittish, even if one of the remedies — rising interest rates — isn’t welcomed by everyone.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” said Ginger Chamb- less, head of Research for Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase. “By raising rates through this year, the Fed is trying to get a handle on inflation and slowly pull some of the excess liquidity out of the economy. I think it makes sense for the Fed to take
a gradual approach. This way, they can see how the economy holds up along the way, as opposed to a more drastic increase, which might cause undue panic in the markets.”
Panic may be a strong word, but the word Day used — uncertainty — is definitely apt for banks, bor- rowers, and the financial industry as a whole. And with more decisions yet to be made by the Fed, the volatility may not be over. u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
Instead,
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