The Index of Banking Activity Composite Index rose to 56.0 in December, up from 55.8 in November, to chalk up its fifth consecutive increase and end 2012 on a continuing upward trend. The modest gain reflected a pattern of guarded optimism among executives at financial institutions, which has marked the Index’s first seven months as an indicator measured by American Banker, in partnership with VantageScore Solutions, LLC.
Compiled from surveys of executives at hundreds of financial institutions across the U.S., the Index is an industry bellwether that tracks 16 distinct business indicators, such as volume of deposits, loan applications and loan delinquencies, and how they change month over month. Measurements of each of these components are combined into a single Composite Index, a diffusion index in which readings above 50 indicate business expansion, and those below 50 signify contraction. To learn more about the Index and the results for December, read about them at AmericanBanker.com.