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The reading of 116 compares to a downwardly
revised October reading of 129.7. The index was set at 100 at
its January 2005 launch, and peaked two years later at 131.7
before plummeting to about half that level around the time of
the Great Recession.
Still, the index was up 1 percent from a year earlier.
"We don't see this as a sea change or an inflection point,"
PayNet founder Bill Phelan said, noting that the index rose by
double digits for most of the year. "This is a pause more than
anything and it's probably pretty healthy."
Loan delinquencies held steady at 1.56 percent, separate PayNet
data showed, a sign that despite an overall increase in
borrowing in 2014, businesses are for the most part repaying
what they owe.
The U.S. economy in the third quarter of 2014 registered its
fastest growth in more than a decade, as the Federal Reserve
finally ended two years of bond-buying stimulus and began to lay
the groundwork for increasing interest rates this year.
Subdued inflation and lingering concerns over the recovery's
staying power mean the central bank is likely to keep interest
rates near zero for at least another several months, if not
longer.
PayNet collects real-time loan information such as originations
and delinquencies from more than 250 leading U.S. lenders.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; editing by Andrew Hay)
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