Auto delinquencies remain flat

US auto loan originations and consumers’ overall debt balances went up at the beginning of this year compared with last, but the delinquency rate for loans past due three months or more remained flat, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Its quarterly Household Debt and Credit Report shows auto loan originations for new and used vehicles up 12% from a year earlier to $95 billion in Q1 2015, while loans 90 days or more past due remained flat at 3.3%.

“Lenders are using good judgment on who they give loans to, and that’s why they are able to hold overall default rates flat,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
Auto-loan debt balances went up 11% from a year earlier to $968 billion.

“There’s still a lot of demand for cars, and people tend to be more dedicated to making their car payments than their house payments” because consumers need mobility and monthly car payments are lower than housing payments, Brauer said.