(Courtesy of the Jacksonville Daily Record) – Despite the tumult of 2020, First Coast financial services companies are optimistic about the new year, saying Jacksonville residents can expect better technology, higher saving and continued low interest rates in 2021.
“As it turns out, we were way too conservative (in 2020). We ended up shattering all those goals that we set,” Community First Credit Union CEO John Hirabayashi told the Business Journal. “We had a record year in loan volume last year: we loaned out about a half-billion dollars.”
In September, the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero until the labor market improves and inflation hits 2%.
Hirabayashi said Community First saw an uptick of loan growth around June, and anticipates surpassing last year’s half-billion dollars worth of loans in 2021 thanks to the low-interest rate environment.
The credit union, which has nearly $340 million assets under management, anticipates fast growth in its commercial accounts, like businesses, and higher investment growth too.
Community First also had a nearly 10% increase in people who use online or mobile banking, Hirabayashi said.
The shift to online didn’t happen overnight though. Banks had a challenging time getting some users to switch to mobile, said Ameris Bancorp CEO H. Palmer Proctor.
“The acceptance rate for those folks who were late adopters of mobile banking now use it,” he said. “As we move forward it’s important to make sure it’s an option for our clients to use our branches for more meaningful discussions, outside of just depositing a check.”
Alternative forms of banking skyrocketed in 2020 for commercial banks too, Bank of America’s business banking app witnessed a 117% growth in mobile check deposits, according to Deloitte’s 2021 banking and capital markets outlook.
Household savings are also said to continue, Hirabayashi said in regard to Community First’s deposits.
More people working from home means more saving and less spending.
“Where we might be growing in a typical year, say 7%, in deposits, that would be checking your savings accounts, and all those this year, we will be growing will have grown close to 20% by the end of the year,” he said.