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The Auto Finance Roadmap: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Auto Finance News
Auto Finance News is pleased to present its podcast on best practices and trending topics in automotive lending and leasing. If you are in auto finance, this is your podcast.Auto Finance News, published by Royal Media, is the flagship publication for the auto finance industry. Published since 1996, Auto Finance News is the nation’s leading source for news, insights and analysis on automotive lending and leasing.Auto Finance News offers a Premium subscription service, which includes a monthly newsletter, a weekly email Update, exclusive event discounts, and much more. The Auto Finance News Premium subscription provides its subscribers with valuable data and exclusive market knowledge. Subscribe now to the News That Drives The Industry at https://www.autofinancenews.net/subscribe/.Auto Finance News produces the following leading industry events: the premiere Auto Finance Summit, the Auto Finance Summit East, the Auto Finance Capital Summit, and the Powersports Finance Summit.
Latest Episodes
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- 2 weeks ago14 min
New York-based VIP Automotive Group accelerates AI adoption
Ben Sporn starts each workday by ensuring AI programs, scripts, commands and agents at VIP Automotive Group are running correctly. That's because Sporn's job as chief marketing officer at his family's Westbury, N.Y.-based dealership group is to build and maintain AI agents and software as well as find opportunities to build new technology in-house. "We started deploying AI about two years ago," he told Auto Finance News. "We've been able to save about $1 million for the group a year. “We've taken 3,000 hours off of human hands per month and nobody lost a job." VIP Automotive has 10 locations across Long Island with brands including Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Ford, Subaru and Volvo. The privately-owned group has more than 3,800 vehicles in inventory but does not share sales figures. In this episode, Amanda Harris, editor of Auto Finance News and Ben Sporn discuss AI innovation at the dealership level.
- Oct 5, 202623 min
Fifth Third’s 84-month auto loan volume grows 15% to 20% YoY
The number of Fifth Third Bank customers opting for 84-month loans grew 15% to 20% year over year as of Sept. 29, Head of Mortgage Lending and Indirect Dealer Services James Sias says on the latest “Auto Finance News Podcast.”“Customers have demonstrated they are willing to keep vehicles longer, particularly when it means that the new vehicle they’re going to buy is going to require a higher payment,” he says.The Cincinnati-based bank does not want to offer the lowest rate or extend to 96-month terms without making sure it “makes sense from a long-term financial perspective for the borrower and the bank,” Sias says.“Responsible affordability is the combination of price structure, down payment, term. … Lenders have to be careful about confusing lower monthly payments with true affordability.” — James Sias Fifth Third Bank“Rate matters enormously to customers and dealers, and we’ve got to be competitive,” he says. “But responsible affordability is the combination of price structure, down payment, term. … Lenders have to be careful about confusing lower monthly payments with true affordability.”The share of new-vehicle buyers with 72-month or longer terms rose 580 basis points (bps) YoY and 20 bps month over month to a record 31.3% in August, according to a Sept. 10 Cox Automotive release.While other banks are increasing nonprime borrowing amid industry affordability challenges, Fifth Third is staying in the prime customer sector, Sias says. Instead, Fifth Third is focused on growing its prime borrowing through geographic expansion.In this episode of the “Auto Finance News Podcast,” Senior Associate Editor Aidan Bush and Sias dive into the shift toward longer-term loans, refinance opportunity, AI use cases and Fifth Third’s dealer finance strategies following its acquisition of Comerica Bank.
- Sep 15, 202612 min
Chase Auto head of pricing, credit strategy says granular decisioning key
Auto lenders must strengthen fraud controls, improve operational processes and lean more into precise, data-based decision-making as they look toward 2027, Manish Chhabra, head of auto pricing and credit strategy at Chase Auto, says on the Auto Finance News Podcast."You cannot do one-size-fits-all underwriting," he says. "Getting granular is important. Leveraging new data, including alternative data, is important as well."While the auto credit environment has proven "fairly resilient," consumers continue to face affordability challenges amid rising car prices, elevated interest rates and high costs for gas, insurance and maintenance, Chhabra says."The indicators that we watch most closely are the early-stage delinquency trends, the cure rates [and] the roll rates, because these are the leading indicators of any sort of stress," he says. "We also pay close attention to collateral values and recoveries, as well as broader consumer health metrics like employment and wage growth."While Chase Auto's delinquencies are "pretty stable," high cost-of-living expenses are stressing consumers, Chhabra says, noting some are more affected than others in today's K-shaped economy."In a higher payment environment, near prime and subprime borrowers tend to be a bit more sensitive to budget shocks, while prime and super prime borrowers are generally a bit more resilient," he says.In this episode of the Auto Finance News Podcast, Editor Amanda Harris and Chase Auto's Chhabra dive into credit strategy, performance trends, portfolio management and the shift toward longer-term loans.
- Aug 19, 202618 min
GM Financial's Kyle Birch reflects on captive build-out, career ahead of retirement
Communication is key to GM Financial's continued success under new leadership, according to retiring GM Financial President of North America Operations Kyle Birch. "There'll always be challenges for lenders and dealers, even in the best of times," he told Auto Finance News. "We talk a lot about sales, funding, credit performance, customer satisfaction, profitability — the list goes on. But if we're not talking about that with our dealer customers [or] in the lending industry, then we're not helping our dealers sell more cars.” Birch's tenure with GM Financial spans nearly 16 years, He has been president since February 2018 and before that chief operating officer and executive vice president of GM Financial North America. He also was with the captive's legacy company, AmeriCredit Financial Services, for 13 years. Jonas Hollandsworth, executive vice president and COO of North America, will succeed Birch in September. "He knows what to do and how to do it well, especially with our dealer customers," Birch said of Hollandsworth. "He'll dive deeper on the consumer side of our business and spend more time growing and learning about our Canadian business." In this podcast, Auto Finance News editor Amanda Harris and GM Financial's Kyle Birch talk about his tenure at the captive and preparing the next generation to lead.
- Aug 10, 202619 min
Arivo Acceptance eyes increased auto ABS cadence
The auto asset-backed securitization market remains resilient as a funding outlet for many issuers and originators. “It's an important source of capital for us,” Michael Gustafson, chief financial officer at lender Arivo Acceptance, tells Auto Finance News. “The primary driver for us is getting critical mass and building up the portfolio to drive the right economics in securitization." West Valley City, Utah-based Arivo in July closed a $221 million transaction backed by nonprime and subprime auto loans, marking its first ABS deal of 2026 and seventh overall. The company had penciled in an ABS deal for late Q2, largely as a function of originations growth and freeing up capacity in its warehouse lines, Gustafson says. Investors appear to be more selective compared with 2025 amid headwinds including consumer affordability, interest rates, inflation concerns and geopolitical uncertainty, he notes. “That said, we saw robust demand across the capital stack,” Gustafson says, noting that new investors joined Arivo's order book for the latest deal. Arivo expects to be in the market a couple of times a year as it looks to expand its footprint and grow its portfolio. The lender historically has come to market one to two times per year. “The more often we're coming to market, we become even less sensitive to the timing. ... You're able to absorb some of the market volatility more easily because you're repricing more frequently,” Gustafson says.Credit characteristics of Arivo's latest pool were in line with its previous issuance in July 2025, according to a July 20 Morningstar DBRS presale report: The number of loans in the pool was 6,782, compared with 7,331; The annual percentage rate was 19.6%, up from 19.32%; The original term was 72.19 months, up from 71.86 months; The loan-to-value ratio was 125.9%, up from 122.98%; The share of loans with no FICO was 5.5%, down from 6.14%.In this podcast episode, Auto Finance News Associate Editor C.J. Moore and Gustafson discuss Arivo's latest auto ABS deal, its tie in with Ken Garff Automotive Group, subprime consumer health, funding costs and more.
- Jul 27, 20267 min
Ally Financial, Capital One, Huntington Bank auto originations mixed
Ally Financial, Capital One and Huntington Bank posted mixed results in the second quarter for auto originations and credit performance. Ally Financial’s auto originations rose 20.9% year over year in Q2 to $13.3 billion, while Capital One's auto originations increased 18.9% YoY to $12.9 billion. Huntington Bank's auto originations, however, decreased 39.1% YoY to $1.4 billion. Delinquencies were also mixed, with the rate of auto loans 30-plus days past due down YoY at Ally and Capital One but up at Huntington. The auto net charge-off rate rose YoY at Capital One and Huntington but declined at Ally. Tesla, meanwhile, produced 451,758 cars, up 10.1% YoY, in Q2 and delivered 480,126, up 25% YoY. The EV manufacturer's lease penetration decreased to 1.6% in Q2 from 1.7% a year prior but was up from 1% in Q1. Leasing continues to help consumers access lower monthly payments. AmeriTrust Financial this month launched a program with direct car-buying company Military AutoSource to provide new- and used-vehicle leasing for military service members. In funding news, Pagaya Technologies issued its largest auto asset-backed securitization deal at $750 million as the fintech continues to see strong investor interest and auto volume. In powersports, industrywide boat sales increased 3.6% YoY to 5,292 units in June. Retailer MarineMax reported a 2.1% YoY dip in finance and insurance product revenue in its fiscal third quarter alongside a 7.1% YoY decline in same-store sales. Harley-Davidson Financial Services' originations also increased 10% YoY in Q2 to $940 million while motorcycle sales increased 3% YoY to 29,751 units in North America. In this episode of “Weekly Wrap,” Auto Finance News Editor Amanda Harris, Senior Associate Editor Aidan Bush and Associate Editor C.J. Moore discuss second-quarter trends across sales, finance and insurance revenue, powersports and funding.
- Jul 20, 20266 min
Wells Fargo Auto, Chase Auto originations jump in Q2
National and regional bank second-quarter earnings point to mixed performance as larger banks lean into auto production while regional banks held steady or scaled back amid market volatility. Wells Fargo Auto, for one, reported a 40.6% year-over-year increase in originations in Q2, while Chase Auto's originations rose 8.9% YoY. Bank of America's auto book shrank. Regional banks saw improvement in auto portfolio delinquencies, but portfolio growth was mixed. Fifth Third Bank's 30- to 89-day delinquencies across its indirect secured consumer portfolio, made up of 84% auto loans, fell 11 basis points (bps) YoY, though net charge-offs inched up 3 bps YoY. U.S. Bank's indirect loan and lease originations, which include auto, increased 61.2% YoY, while PNC Financial's auto portfolio ticked down 0.1% YoY. Truist reduced lending in prime and nonprime auto and discontinued originations and RV and marine loans. Buy here, pay here dealer America’s Car-Mart's net charge-offs also rose as sales declined 27.1% YoY and the company eyes restructuring and financial challenges. The Rogers, Ark.-based retailer cut its number of dealerships by 60 locations, or 39%, YoY to 94. In powersports, EV manufacturer Lightship is rolling out consumer financing options for its electric-assist RV trailer. In this episode of “Weekly Wrap,” Auto Finance News Editor Amanda Harris, Senior Associate Editor Aidan Bush and Associate Editor C.J. Moore discuss second-quarter trends across credit performance, portfolio growth, originations, sales and funding.
- Jul 13, 202623 min
Subaru Motors Finance to target first-time buyers, expand credit access
Subaru Motors Finance plans to expand its underwriting to attract more first-time buyers, Managing Director Michael Cottone tells Auto Finance News in the latest episode of “The Auto Finance Roadmap Podcast.”“We are extremely low when it comes to delinquencies; the FICO scores are very high, the income levels are high,” he says. “We’re looking to try and find more buyers for the Subaru brand. We’re trying to look at where we can expand credit policies … especially looking at the younger demographic.” Cottone pointed to Subaru’s college graduate financing program, which, according to Subaru, approves new-vehicle loans for recent graduates with thin or invisible credit files as long as:The graduate’s payment-to-income ratio does not exceed 15% of gross monthly income;They have not faced bankruptcy, foreclosure or repossession; andThey have proof of employment and income.The program also offers up to $500 in cash rebates, according to the retailer.As a private-label captive for Subaru of America powered by Chase Auto, Subaru Motors Finance uses Chase’s digital platforms and in-person events to market Subaru financing offers, Cottone says.“We’re trying to find all the different avenues from JPMorgan Chase to get those first-time buyers into a Subaru. … It’s really a matter of generating more traffic, more conquesting and more customers to come into the doors so the retailers can sell to them,” he says.The captive is also leaning on Subaru of America’s lease incentives to offer borrowers lower monthly payments rather than financing longer terms, Cottone says.Cottone says Subaru Motors Finance’s originations rose year over year as of July 7, without providing specifics. Subaru of America’s auto sales jumped 18.1% YoY in June to 54,909 units.In this episode of “The Roadmap,” Auto Finance News senior associate editor Aidan Bush and Cottone discuss consumer affordability challenges, leasing, longer loan terms, EV financing and technology adoption.
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About The Auto Finance Roadmap
Auto Finance News is pleased to present its podcast on best practices and trending topics in automotive lending and leasing. If you are in auto finance, this is your podcast.Auto Finance News, published by Royal Media, is the flagship publication for the auto finance industry. Published since 1996, Auto Finance News is the nation’s leading source for news, insights and analysis on automotive lending and leasing.Auto Finance News offers a Premium subscription service, which includes a monthly newsletter, a weekly email Update, exclusive event discounts, and much more. The Auto Finance News Premium subscription provides its subscribers with valuable data and exclusive market knowledge. Subscribe now to the News That Drives The Industry at https://www.autofinancenews.net/subscribe/.Auto Finance News produces the following leading industry events: the premiere Auto Finance Summit, the Auto Finance Summit East, the Auto Finance Capital Summit, and the Powersports Finance Summit.
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