Lede

US consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain credit, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with a rise in the number of respondents reporting that access to credit has become more challenging.

Summary

• Perceptions of credit access and availability among US consumers declined in March
• The share of respondents reporting it's harder to obtain credit than one year ago climbed to the highest since 2013
• The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has led to fears of a credit crisis and a potential further tightening of credit standards
• Year-ahead inflation expectations increased for the first time since October, with near-term inflation expectations seeing the largest jump since March 2022
• Consumers' uncertainty about future inflation outcomes also increased for the one-year horizon
• Longer-term inflation expectations decreased when looking three and five years out
• The mean perceived probability of losing a job declined, and fewer people anticipated they would leave their job.