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.