Auto Credit Access Stable

Auto credit access was stable last month, Cox Automotive’s All-Loans Index essentially flat at 94.8.

Availability grew tighter in most channels and all lender types, said Cox, which observed that the subprime and negative equity shares fell while the approval rate, term length and down payments rose and yield spreads narrowed, balancing out conditions for the borrowing consumer.

Year-over-year, access was greater in every channel but franchised used sales, which was flat, and for all lender types, Cox said. Captive lenders and credit unions were loosest.

May’s approval rate rose 20 basis points month-over-month as the share of loans with terms longer than 72 months rose slightly but was down 1.5 percentage points year-over-year.

Auto consumers’ outlook was mixed, depending on the tracking index.

Their plans to buy a vehicle in the next month were flat year-over-year, based on the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index. But their view of vehicle buying conditions fell to its lowest since the fall due to their declining assessment of interest rates, according to a University of Michigan sentiment index.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in its effort to cool inflation while saying it plans to cut rates once this year.

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