America’s rich only got richer during the pandemic, and it seems that the current economic turbulence may serve to benefit them more. Though the recent economic news has sounded a steady drumbeat of doom—inflation keeps rising, stocks keep wavering—wealthy Americans increased their borrowing rates during the first half of this year.
At Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, wealth-management units recorded multi-digit loan growth in the second quarter. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the growth signifies that wealthier American consumers are not preparing for a recession, or at least not acting like it; on earnings calls, banks’ leaders said that borrowers are spending at a typical pace and staying on top of their debt payments. “Volatility and market decline are when the wealthy make their money,” Mike Kosnitzky, co-head of the private-wealth practice at a law firm, said. “This is a buy time.”
Read it at The Wall Street Journal
