SCE CREDIT ACCESS SURVEY
February Survey: Consumers Expect More Difficulties, Rejections in Obtaining Credit
- The SCE Credit Access Survey points to an expected future tightening in credit conditions, consistent with the February core Survey of Consumer Expectations where the share of respondents reporting that they expect it to be harder to obtain credit a year from now jumped to 46.7 percent, the highest since June 2024.
- The share of discouraged borrowers, defined as respondents reporting that they did not apply for any credit because they did not think they would get approved (despite reporting a need for credit), reached 8.5 percent, the highest level since the start of the survey in October 2013.
- The average perceived likelihood of a new credit card, home loan, or auto loan application being rejected all rose. For auto loan applications, the average perceived probability of a rejection reached 33.5 percent, the highest level since the start of the series.
- The average likelihood of being able to come up with $2,000, if an unexpected need arose within the next month, declined to 62.7 percent, a new series low.
