The American Bankers Association (ABA) not only foresees consumer and business credit markets doing well in the second quarter of 2021, it found that U.S. consumers are happy with the way their banks have performed during the Covid-19 crisis.
The ABA has an economic advisory committee that is composed of 15 chief economists from leading financial institutions across the nation that provides perspectives on regional and national banking and economic conditions, including quarterly reports and forecasts.
The advisory committee reported optimism for the second quarter of 2021 in view of there now being additional federal financial relief and accelerating vaccine distribution. It pointed to not only the recently enacted American Rescue Plan that extends many provisions of the original Covid-relief CARES Act but also to the government now allocating $10 billion for the vaccine rollout, industry-specific relief for restaurants, airlines, entertainment, the arts and other areas and more than $100 billion for schools along with $350 billion for state and local governments.
The committee also cited several other policies that are in place, including restrictions on evictions and foreclosures and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The ABA saw vaccination efforts as the key to many businesses fully reopening and to millions of Americans returning to work.
