Summary
According to data from Compete's consumer panel, March rebounded from the lower traffic in February. Every product, except standard savings accounts, posted increases in the number of applications. Credit cards were the biggest gainer (up 24% in shoppers, up 13% in applications) following sharp declines the past few months. Home loans market performed similarly, with double-digit increases in applications for both purchase (up 15%) and refinances (up 12%). 

New this month, we have valid year-over-year comparisons shown (see note 1). Compared to a year ago, both checking and credit cards applicants and shoppers have risen significantly. Home loan shoppers are up slightly, but applications are up. 

Commentary

• Credit cards saw a large jump in both shoppers and applicants. The credit crisis seems to have benefited the credit cards market as applications, especially for balance-transfer cards, have increased. Compared to a year ago, shoppers are up 47% and applicants are up 53%. However, conversion dropped by 2% from February.

• Deposits saw overall shopper loss in all three segments during March, but applications for checking were up 2% as were high-yield savings (up 8%). Last year at this time, deposits were increasing across all segments. In March of 2008, however, applicant levels are below what they were in 2007 with 31% drop in high-yield savings applicants and a 7% decline in all savings accounts.

• After a terrible February, refinance mortgages posted a 27% gain in shoppers as well as a 12% gain in applicants. Year-over-year refinance applications are up 32% from a year ago. Purchase mortgages also saw a similar improvement from last month with a gain of 23% over last year. Home equity had the largest gain in applications in the month of March as leads/applications (note 2) grew 34%. Year over year, however, applications are down 32% due to the housing crisis of the past few months.

About the Financial Services Scorecard
A year ago, we introduced the Financial Services Monthly Performance scorecard produced by Compete. It summarizes the overall performance of 23 large U.S. financial institutions and lead-generation sites. Refer here for the detailed methodology as well as companies tracked.

Notes:
1. New this month: Year-over-year comparisons are now included in the monthly table. Because of ongoing methodology tweaks, the percentages in this table may be slightly different than if you went back to the data from a year ago and calculated the change. 

2. Leads/applicants = Leads or applications depending on whether the site being tracked is a lead-generation site or an actual lender.