NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released the Survey of Consumer Expectations’ (SCE) Credit Access Survey, which provides information about households' experiences and expectations regarding credit demand and credit access.
In effort to better understand and monitor demand and access to credit, every four months SCE panelists are asked whether they applied for credit in the past 12 months and the outcomes of their applications. Panelists are also asked about their expectations of applying for credit over the next twelve months and the perceived likelihood of the credit applications being accepted.
The New York Fed will report information for overall credit in addition to five specific credit products: auto loans, credit cards, credit card limit increases, mortgages, and mortgage refinancing. Survey findings (in instances with sufficient sample sizes) are also presented by age and self-reported credit score subgroups. The series will be updated every four months.
About the Survey of Consumer Expectations
The SCE contains information about how consumers expect overall inflation and prices for food, gas, housing and education to behave. In addition, it provides insight into Americans’ views about job prospects and earnings growth and their expectations about future spending and access to credit. The SCE also provides measures of uncertainty in expectations for the main outcomes of interest. Expectations are also available by age, geography, income, education and numeracy.
The SCE is a nationally representative, internet-based survey of a rotating panel of approximately 1,200 household heads. Respondents participate in the panel for up to twelve months, with a roughly equal number rotating in and out of the panel each month. Unlike comparable surveys based on repeated cross-sections with a different set of respondents in each wave, our panel allows us to observe the changes in expectations and behavior of the same individuals over time.
The survey is conducted on our behalf by The Demand Institute, a non-profit organization jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. The sampling frame for the SCE is based on that used for The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS). Respondents to the CCS, itself based on a representative national sample drawn from mailing addresses, are invited to join the SCE internet panel.
