Finance

More Americans have brighter outlook on state of finances for next year: survey

Published

6 months ago

December 15, 2024

November jobs report beats expectations. FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence with more.

As the new year approaches, more Americans have a brighter outlook for the state of their personal finances in 2025, a recent survey indicated.

Bankrate said Thursday its survey found that 44% of American adults expect to see their financial situation become either “somewhat” or “significantly better” next year, a 7 percentage-point increase from the roughly same time last year.

The survey, conducted on the personal finance site’s behalf by YouGov, took place Nov. 6, the day after the 2024 election, through Nov. 8 and involved nearly 2,500 American adults.

NEARLY 60% OF AMERICANS SAY $100K INCOME REQUIRED TO CURB EXPENSES ANXIETY: STUDY

Less inflation was the most common driver behind the rosy outlooks, with 36% of Americans pointing to that, according to the data.

young woman paying bills at kitchen table

Close up of a young woman doing her bills in the kitchen (iStock / iStock)

The U.S. saw inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index increase 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in November, the government reported.

Other factors played into positive financial expectations for 2025, the survey found.

For instance, over one-third of Americans that anticipate they will see better personal finances in 2025 reported “rising income” as helping guide their positive outlook. A slightly lower share (30%) pointed to “having less debt,” while “work done by elected representatives” and “better spending habits” also factored into optimism for 25%.

A separate July survey from Discover Personal Loans had reported 80% of Americans were experiencing “some level” of anxiety stemming from finances.

Meanwhile, Bankrate found Thursday that 33% of Americans foresee the state of their finances remaining as they currently are next year.

Just shy of a quarter of Americans held gloomier expectations for their financial situations, reporting they anticipated things would become “somewhat” or “significantly worse,” the Bankrate survey showed.

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Inflation also had the most weight for U.S. adults anticipating worsening finances. That was followed by “work done by elected representatives” cited by 30%, “stagnant or reduced income” cited by 28% and debt holdings by 20%, among other factors, according to Bankrate.

“Post-election, our survey finds that some Americans see elected officials either as a reason why their finances might not improve (or why they will), affirming a continuing political divide. No matter where someone stands along the political spectrum, the opportunity remains for all to identify financial goals and to act upon them,” Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate, said in a statement.

Man and woman review paperwork on a couch at home.

Couples should come together to review finances and craft budgets if they’re planning to stay together long-term. (iStock / iStock)

About 21% of Americans have their sights set on reducing their debt in the coming year, the survey found.

AMERICANS’ HOUSEHOLD DEBT SURGED IN RECENT YEARS AMID CHALLENGING CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT

As of the third quarter, American households collectively owed $17.94 trillion worth of debt, including things like mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student loans, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Americans had $12.59 trillion in mortgage balances in the third quarter, for instance. Student loans amounted to $1.61 trillion, while auto loans totalled $1.64 trillion, the New York Fed found.

Finance

UK’s FCA teams up with Nvidia to let banks experiment with AI

Published

19 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Business Finance News

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

LONDON — Britain’s financial services watchdog on Monday announced a new tie-up with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to let banks safely experiment with artificial intelligence.

The Financial Conduct Authority said it will launch a so-called Supercharged Sandbox that will “give firms access to better data, technical expertise and regulatory support to speed up innovation.”

Starting from October, financial services institutions in the U.K. will be allowed to experiment with AI using Nvidia’s accelerated computing and AI Enterprise Software products, the watchdog said in a press release.

The initiative is designed for firms in the “discovery and experiment phase” with AI, the FCA noted, adding that a separate live testing service exists for firms further along in AI development.

“This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so,” Jessica Rusu, the FCA’s chief data, intelligence and information officer, said in a statement. “We’ll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth.”

The FCA’s new sandbox addresses a key issue for banks, which have faced challenges shipping advanced new AI tools to their customers amid concerns over risks around privacy and fraud.

Large language models from the likes of OpenAI and Google send data back to overseas facilities — and privacy regulators have raised the alarm over how this information is stored and processed. There have meanwhile been several instances of malicious actors using generative AI to scam people.

Nvidia is behind the graphics processing units, or GPUs, used to train and run powerful AI models. The company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, is expected to give a keynote talk at a tech conference in London on Monday morning.

Last year, HSBC’s generative AI lead, Edward Achtner, told a London tech conference he sees “a lot of success theater” in finance when it comes to artificial intelligence — hinting that some financial services firms are touting advances in AI without tangible product innovations to show for it.

He added that, while banks like HSBC have used AI for many years, new generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT come with their own unique compliance risks.