Sue Horgen (CFO) and I went to a luncheon sponsored by Union Bank of California. TRM has used Union bank for over 20 years. Why? Many years ago, when the Mission was short on cash, short on credit, and no assets, Union Bank was the only bank to be willing to loan us a line of credit. All these years later, we’re still with them. The luncheon was primarily to hear some economists talk about what their predictions for the end of the recession might be, based upon their data. Interesting points: 1. A recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. But the length of a recession is determined when a market is at its peak (Dec 07) to the bottom (who knows?). As it stands now, this recession is one of longest recorded. (16 months) 2. The housing market issues triggered the banking problems, these economists suggest that the housing market will be a leading indicator when it starts to climb out. Based on that, the good news is the unsold houses on the market are shrinking and they hope will be more manageable by summer. 3. They are predicting it will end in Sept/Oct., but are hedging their bets. What does this mean to the Mission? It means that we do the following: 1. Keep prayerful and trust that God will provide. 2. Make sure we are doing everything we can to be effective in our work and look for opportunities to help those in need. 3. Plan to be prudent and efficient in the 2009/2010 budget. It’s good to be informed, and I really respect the discipline of the financial experts. Having said that, we’re gonna stay positive, keep prayerful and look for opportunities to make a difference. Any questions, comments, please post. David.
