State bankers expect growth

In survey, 10% call economy excellent

Wisconsin bank executives are optimistic about loan growth in what they see as an improving state economy, a new survey shows.

Of 101 bank leaders polled during the first two weeks of June, 10% considered the state economy excellent, while 75% thought it was good, according to results released Wednesday by the Wisconsin Bankers Association. In a similar survey conducted last June, only 1% ranked the health of the state economy as excellent, while 75% said it was good.

The poll showed that during the coming six months, 37% of the bankers expect Wisconsin’s economy to grow, which was up from 31% who expected six months of growth when the poll was conducted at the same time last year. Most — 62% — expect the economy to remain the same, and only 1% thought it would weaken.

In June of last year, 52% of the bankers rated the demand for commercial real estate loans as good or excellent. Now 68% view it that way.

Demand also is deemed higher than a year ago for business loan growth, but the demand has slowed for home loans, the survey shows. Only 24% of the bank executives polled expected mortgage loans to increase in the next six months. That was down from 30% who expected growth in residential real estate loans in the second half of last year.

The trends reflected in the Bank CEO Economic Conditions Survey, which is

taken in June and December, have been on target, the bankers group said. In the December survey, bank executives predicted growth in the economy and steady loan demand in most categories through the first half of this year.

“Wisconsin bankers have a unique perspective on the economy,” said Rose Oswald Poels, president and chief executive of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. “Bankers are able to understand Wisconsin’s economic trends and in turn use that information to help their communities prosper.”

She said that loan demand in Wisconsin “has been healthy” for the past couple of years.

The pickup in the economy and loan demand may lead to more hiring by banks, the survey shows. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they expect to hire employees in the next six months. That was an increase from 30% who said in June 2016 they expected to hire in the last half of that year.

Agriculture loan demand was seen as fair by 56% of the bankers. Farming is a cyclical industry and many farmers are in “sustain and maintain” mode right now, the bankers organization said.