The Canadian Finance and Leasing Association (CFLA) released the results of its Q1/23 and Q2/23 Industry Business Confidence Survey. Individual sentiment on most responses improved from the previous Q3/22 and Q4/23 survey, though sentiment is still lower than the historical average.

Survey Highlights:

• 24% of respondents indicated pessimism about their company’s prospects compared to 28.5% from the previous survey in Q3/22 and Q4/22
• 70% of respondents expect overall margins to increase or stay the same compared to 40% in the previous survey
• 54% of respondents expect new business volumes to increase compared to 48% in the previous survey

“I’m pleased to see more optimism in the market amidst predictions of a looming recession,” Michael Rothe, president and CEO of the CFLA, said. “I know we still have some difficult economic headwinds coming our way, but I’m confident our industry will continue innovating and working hard to help Canadian businesses prosper.”