Guest speaker, Richard Kaglic, Senior Regional Economist with The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond shared that information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace since mid-year. Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined. Household spending has been rising moderately but business fixed investment has remained soft.

On a more local level, member Howard Brooks of Medalist Capital reported that Medalist finished 2016 with 80 loans totaling $800,000,000. In 2017, Howard states all lenders have received their allocations, and while he predicts lending will be robust, he thinks it will be more conservative.