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A broad majority of Wisconsin banking executives believe the state economy is strong, but enthusiasm is down compared to past surveys.

That’s according to a new end-of-the-year survey from the Wisconsin Bankers Association, conducted between Nov. 19 and Dec. 12. It showed zero percent of banking CEOs believe the economy is “excellent” and 79 percent say it’s “good.”

The same share of executives said the economy was good in the middle of the year, but 7 percent said it was “excellent” at that time, the survey shows. For comparison, 7 percent said the economy was “excellent: and 76 percent said it was “good” at the end of 2024. At least 5 percent of bankers have been describing the economy as “excellent” in each survey since at least the end of 2022.

Rose Oswald Poels, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, said the survey results show a “steady economic outlook” but “not an overwhelmingly great economic outlook.” She said some sectors of the economy are doing well, while others are struggling. 

“I think that’s true whether we’re talking about businesses or whether we’re talking about individuals,” Oswald Poels said. 

A slimmer majority of banking CEOs, 55 percent, expect Wisconsin’s economy to stay roughly the same over the next six months — while 28 percent believe the economy is going to grow over the next six months and 17 percent believe it will shrink, the survey shows.

Oswald Poels said the positive factors in Wisconsin’s economy — like low unemployment, a strong manufacturing sector and strong consumer spending — helped contribute to most bankers feeling the economy will remain steady in the next six months. 

But concerns around housing affordability, particularly for low-income individuals, and uncertainty around tariffs have contributed to less than one-third of bankers believing the economy will grow in the next six months, she said.

“I think that uncertainty will continue into next year, which gives, I think, the bankers a little bit of pause,” she said. “But at the same time, 28 percent are expecting the economy to grow, which is certainly a little higher than what we’ve seen in the last couple of survey responses six and 12 months ago.”

At the same time, 72 percent of bank CEOs believe interest rates will fall over the next six months, the survey shows. 

While most of the responses came in before the Federal Reserve announced a rate cut on Dec. 10, Oswald Poels said bankers, anecdotally, expect two more rate decreases next year.

Over the next six months, residential real estate loans were the only loan category most CEOs, 59 percent, predicted would see demand grow, according to the survey. For business, commercial real estate and agricultural loans, a majority of bankers said demand would stay the same.

Oswald Poels said residential real estate lending has been lagging behind the last couple of years due to high interest rates combined with the high costs of building new homes. That’s made home buying, especially for new homes, more expensive.

She said expectations that interest rates will come down over the next year, along with rate cuts earlier in 2025, have helped “lead to the optimism that we’re going to see pretty nice growth in residential real estate lending.”

She also said banks are seeing consumers use credit cards a little more this year than they have in the past few years, but deposit levels at banks have remained strong.

Heading into 2026, Oswald Poels said financial fraud is one of the biggest things banks are trying to keep an eye out for. 

Last week, the Wisconsin Bankers Association, citing data from the Federal Trade Commission, said Wisconsin consumers and businesses lost more than $107 million to fraud in 2025, including $32.8 million in losses in the third quarter of the year.

Oswald Poels said technological advancements, including in artificial intelligence, have helped make fraudster phone calls more believable, often posing as police, IRS agents, bank employees or family members.

“When someone’s calling or texting you and demanding you to act instantly, everybody should just pause at that point,” she said. “Then hang up the phone and contact people, whether it is the bank separately with a number you would normally use, or contact family members if that’s the urgent situation that the bad actor is trying to get you to act.”

Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.

In a 29-page statement of claim filed Friday with Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench, the First Nation alleges Hudson “engaged in corrupt practices,” made unauthorized transfers of funds, awarded contracts to companies he benefitted from, treated the First Nation’s assets “as if they were his own” and engaged in “risky financing and real estate transactions” during his 14 years as the chief as well as a shareholder and director of several Peguis corporations.

The allegations have not been proven in court. No statement of defence has been filed.

Hudson served as chief of Peguis, Manitoba’s most populous First Nation, from 2007 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2023, when he lost to current Chief Stan Bird in an election Hudson continues to contest before the courts.

Hudson said the claims in the lawsuit are frivolous and intended to influence the outcome of the next Peguis election.

In its statement of claim, Peguis is seeking unspecified compensation for Hudson’s alleged breaches of trust and duty and asked the court to trace any money, property or other benefits that were received as a result.

“The Nation suffered substantial financial losses, reputational harm and erosion of governance integrity,” reads the statement of claim.

“The corruption that the defendant engaged in … continues to have lasting negative impacts on the Nation.”

Band alleges it was invoiced for furniture, vehicles

Peguis alleges in its claim Hudson used his band-issued credit card to make “numerous cash gifts” to band members and encouraged members to charge the band for gas purchased at the Mi Ki Nak Gas Station. The gas purchases amounted to $700,000 in the 2021-22 fiscal year, the claim states.

According to the claim, Hudson repeatedly invoiced Peguis for “home furniture, vehicles, personal telecommunications and personal legal fees” for himself, his family and associates.

The band also states in its claim that Hudson received honoraria for attending third-party events without disclosing the income to the band, diverted a $30,000 grant — intended to build a monument for residential school survivors — to himself “in or around 2023,” and diverted at least $250,000 from the Percy E. Moore Hospital “to cover the Nation’s cashflow shortages” on at least three occasions in 2022 or 2023.

According to the claim, Hudson directed, influenced or caused the band to approve the use of $22 million in treaty land entitlement funds in 2013 to invest in property at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg without disclosing he was a director of a company that was paid $935,000 “for purportedly arranging financing” for the purchase.

The claim also states Hudson did not act in the band’s best interest when Peguis First Nation’s real estate trust used $10 million of treaty land entitlement funds in 2021 to purchase the Meadows Golf Course in East St. Paul, placed band adviser Andrew Marquess “in total control of the development” and then sold most of the land to Marquess in 2024.

Peguis also alleges in its claim Hudson did not act in the band’s best interest when the Peguis real estate trust purchased land on Wellington Crescent in Winnipeg for $350,000 “for addition to reserve” and then sold it to a third party for profit.

According to the statement of claim, Hudson breached his duty to the band “by unilaterally awarding, or causing the Nation to award, construction contracts to companies in which he had a financial or business interest.” The statement alleges Peguis contracted Ayshkum Engineering Inc., which Hudson co-founded and served as a director, “for at least $20 million” during his tenure as chief.

The statement of claim alleges Hudson received “kickbacks” as part of this and other contracts, through cash “in the guise of ‘consulting fees,’ lavish dinners, gift cards, hockey tickets and other forms of compensation.”

The claim also alleges Hudson did not act in the band’s best interest when Peguis took $95 million worth of loans with private lender Bridging Finance Inc. at a rate of prime plus 11 per cent in 2017 and directed $10 million from those loans in 2018 to a cannabis venture without disclosing his interest in the venture.

Overall, Peguis alleges in its claim that Hudson “fostered an environment in which loyalty was rewarded, and procedures and independent oversight were discouraged and disregarded.

“Individuals who raised concerns were either fired, constructively dismissed or shuffled to different positions.”

The band alleges that Hudson’s conduct “was not isolated or inadvertent but formed part of a sustained pattern of governance failure, misuse of authority, and disregard for fiduciary obligations, resulting in foreseeable and substantial harm to the Nation.”

Lawsuit part of ‘negative campaign,’ Hudson says

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Hudson said he will defend himself and his family against what he called “frivolous claims” from current Peguis Chief Stan Bird.

Hudson said via text message on Monday the claims are part “a negative campaign” against him focused on the outcome of the next Peguis First Nation election.

“As First Nations leadership, we need to focus on the positive outcomes for our people rather [than] tearing opportunities down and pursuing defamation of character,” Hudson said via text.

In a Facebook video address on Friday, Bird said Peguis’s council did not take the decision to launch a claim against a former band chief lightly.