Just Released: Auto Lending Keeps Pace as Delinquencies Mount in Auto Finance Sector
Total household debt increased by $116 billion to reach $12.96 trillion in the third quarter of 2017, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released today by the New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data. Household debt has been growing since mid-2013, boosted in part by steady growth in auto loan balances, which have grown for twenty-six consecutive quarters thanks to record-high levels of newly originated loans. Although new vehicle sales had begun to slump over the summer after several strong years of growth, September and October saw a rebound in sales, ending with over 18 million vehicles sold (seasonally adjusted at an annualized rate), and auto loan originations in the third quarter were commensurate with these numbers. In this post, we revisit the state of auto lending and auto loan performance, using the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel which is based on Equifax credit data.