Auto loans are fucked pic.twitter.com/SkOzrOrzsx
— Darth Powell 🦈🇺🇲🇺🇦🇵🇱🇫🇮 (@GRomePow) October 28, 2023
Car Owners Fall Behind on Payments at Highest Rate on Record
The risk of vehicle repossession is rising for many Americans facing a budget crunch.
Americans are falling behind on their auto loans at the highest rate in nearly three decades.
With interest rate hikes making newer loans more expensive, millions of car owners are struggling to afford their payments. It’s a clear indication of distress at a time when the economy is sending mixed signals, particularly about the health of consumer spending.
The percent of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due on their loans rose to 6.11% in September, the highest in data going back to 1994, according to Fitch Ratings. In April that figure slipped from a previous high of 5.93% in January. But after burning through tax returns, contending with a shakier job market and grappling with still-elevated inflation, more car owners have become delinquent.
Behind the surge is both higher car prices and borrowing costs. And with the Federal Reserve indicating it plans to keep rates higher for longer, the problem is likely to persist, especially as millions of Americans recently started paying their federal student loans again.
“The subprime borrower is getting squeezed,” said Margaret Rowe, senior director with the asset-backed securities group at Fitch. “They can often be a first line of where we start to see the negative effects of macroeconomic headwinds.”
h/t Simian_Stacker