RBC Financial Group and Ipsos Public Affairs today announced an agreement to publish the RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household (CASH) index, a monthly national survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal financial situations, savings and confidence to make large investments.

As part of the deal, RBC will immediately assume sponsorship of the index, which has been in existence since 2002.

“Ipsos Public Affairs is happy to partner with RBC to provide this information on consumer attitudes. RBC will bring timely and relevant economic and financial market analysis to the CASH index, making it an even more compelling market indicator,” said Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos Public Affairs in North America.

The index will be released at the end of the first, full week of each month. In addition to the overall index, RBC and Ipsos will publish four indices calculated and comprised from specific questions within the survey. These additional indexes include the current consumer index, the consumer expectations index, the jobs and employment index, and the purchasing and investing index.

“Over the years, Canadians have come to rely on RBC as providing insightful commentary on many aspects of the economy and personal finance,” said Craig Wright, chief economist, RBC Financial Group. “By teaming with Ipsos and our colleagues in the United States, we hope to bring this knowledge to a wider audience.”

The interviews are conducted the first, full week of every month, as part of the Ipsos weekly telephone omnibus polling service. The RBC CASH study includes 1,000 respondents per wave, with a quarterly sample of 3,000 respondents.