Consumer Morsel

October 2022

Hitting the Buffers?

Key takeaways

  • People saved more than usual over the pandemic, due to stimulus payments increasing income and an initial drop in spending.
  • Bank of America internal data indicates that some of the accumulated deposits are now being gradually drawn on, particularly among lower income households.
  • But there is little evidence of a sharp rise in people living ‘paycheck to paycheck’ – only 12% of customers have account inflows 85% or less of their outflows. Provided the economic slowdown is gradual, we expect the accumulated buffers to continue to support consumers for a significant period.

 

Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.