Though BBVA Compass exited the indirect auto lending business in 2009, the Birmingham, Ala.-based bank has launched a new service to get itself back in front of car shoppers.



The BBVA Compass Car-Buying Service, as the program is called, is a joint venture with TrueCar Inc., a provider of real-time, new-car transaction data online. Available at… Continue

In the past two years, direct loans have dropped to 12%, from 19%, of Wells Fargo Dealer Services’ portfolio. Even so, the overall portfolio has grown 39% during that time.



Wells Fargo’s auto portfolio closed the year at $39.3 billion, up from $32.2 billion at yearend 2009.



While indirect auto loans have been growing, the direct auto-loan portion of the portfolio has been on the decline. Last quarter, direct auto loans comprised $4.8 billion of the overall portfolio.…

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Consumer loan delinquencies are on the mend, dropping in eight of 11 loan categories, according to the American Bankers Association.



Marine loan delinquencies fell 58 basis points to 1.63% in the fourth quarter of 2009, while bank card delinquencies dropped 38 basis points to 4.39%.



On the auto side, 30-day late payments improved 10 basis points for direct loans, to 2.04%. Remarkably, direct loan delinquencies have declined to below-historical norms.



What’s… Continue

Late payments on direct auto loans shot up 98 basis points in the first quarter — nearly 50% — the highest jump for any asset class tracked by the American Bankers Association.



First-quarter direct-auto delinquencies were 3.01%, compared with 2.03% in the final quarter of 2008.



In general, ABA Chief Economist James Chessen said the higher delinquencies are a result of rising unemployment. “The No. 1 driver of delinquencies is job loss,” he said, adding that “delinquencies… Continue