Finance

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

Published

6 months ago

December 15, 2024

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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.

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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.

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Swiss government proposes tough new capital rules in major blow to UBS

Published

3 days ago

June 6, 2025

Business Finance News

A sign in German that reads “part of the UBS group” in Basel on May 5, 2025.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

The Swiss government on Friday proposed strict new capital rules that would require banking giant UBS to hold an additional $26 billion in core capital, following its 2023 takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse.

The measures would also mean that UBS will need to fully capitalize its foreign units and carry out fewer share buybacks.

“The rise in the going-concern requirement needs to be met with up to USD 26 billion of CET1 capital, to allow the AT1 bond holdings to be reduced by around USD 8 billion,” the government said in a Friday statement, referring to UBS’ holding of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds.

The Swiss National Bank said it supported the measures from the government as they will “significantly strengthen” UBS’ resilience.

“As well as reducing the likelihood of a large systemically important bank such as UBS getting into financial distress, this measure also increases a bank’s room for manoeuvre to stabilise itself in a crisis through its own efforts. This makes it less likely that UBS has to be bailed out by the government in the event of a crisis,” SNB said in a Friday statement.

‘Too big to fail’

UBS has been battling the specter of tighter capital rules since acquiring the country’s second-largest bank at a cut-price following years of strategic errors, mismanagement and scandals at Credit Suisse.

The shock demise of the banking giant also brought Swiss financial regulator FINMA under fire for its perceived scarce supervision of the bank and the ultimate timing of its intervention.

Swiss regulators argue that UBS must have stronger capital requirements to safeguard the national economy and financial system, given the bank’s balance topped $1.7 trillion in 2023, roughly double the projected Swiss economic output of last year. UBS insists it is not “too big to fail” and that the additional capital requirements — set to drain its cash liquidity — will impact the bank’s competitiveness.

At the heart of the standoff are pressing concerns over UBS’ ability to buffer any prospective losses at its foreign units, where it has, until now, had the duty to back 60% of capital with capital at the parent bank.

Higher capital requirements can whittle down a bank’s balance sheet and credit supply by bolstering a lender’s funding costs and choking off their willingness to lend — as well as waning their appetite for risk. For shareholders, of note will be the potential impact on discretionary funds available for distribution, including dividends, share buybacks and bonus payments.

“While winding down Credit Suisse’s legacy businesses should free up capital and reduce costs for UBS, much of these gains could be absorbed by stricter regulatory demands,” Johann Scholtz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a note preceding the FINMA announcement.

“Such measures may place UBS’s capital requirements well above those faced by rivals in the United States, putting pressure on returns and reducing prospects for narrowing its long-term valuation gap. Even its long-standing premium rating relative to the European banking sector has recently evaporated.”