Report Shows Record Drops in Credit Union Auto Loans

Credit unions continued setting records in August for poor lending performance, led by further shrinking of auto loan portfolios, according to a trade group’s report.

The Credit Union Monthly Estimates from America’s Credit Unions released Sept. 10 showed record-breaking 12-month drops for both new and used car portfolios.

The drop for used cars wasn’t much — just 0.1% — but it was the first time that the portfolio of used cars showed a 12-month drop in value since at least September 2013 (when CU Times’ dataset from its CUNA predecessor begins).

Used cars’ previous low was a 2.9% gain for the 12 months ending April 2020. The change fell below that mark in February of this year, and remained below it — but still positive — through July. The word “estimates” is operative here: The record might disappear with future revisions from the trade group.

New car loans were down 4.9% — the biggest 12-month drop since at least September 2014. The biggest previous drop was 4.0% from September 2019 to September 2020.

Total loans grew 3.4% from a year ago — the smallest 12-month gain since at least August of 2014. The pandemic low point was a 4.4% gain from May 2020 to May 2021. The 12-month growth rate has been below 4.4% every month since April.

First-lien mortgages helped pull down the month’s average growth. First mortgages grew 2.3% to $592.5 billion from a year earlier, and rose 0.1% from July, compared with a 10-year average August gain of 0.8%. First mortgages have been declining since a recent peak of 12.5% for the 12 months ending March 2023.

Growth for credit cards and home equity lines of credit remains well above average, but both have been subsiding since early 2023.

The declines for new and used cars occurred in a month that Cox Automotive reported sales gains by dealers in both categories.

However, Cox Automotive also reported credit unions led a decline in credit availability from July to August for most lender types. The drop in its credit access index was “driven by decreased loan approval rates, shortened loan terms, and increased yield spreads, making it more difficult for consumers to access auto credit.”

Also, third-quarter earnings reports Friday from two of the nation’s largest banks showed deterioration in auto lending. In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, auto loan portfolios fell 14% at Wells Fargo and 2% at JPMorgan Chase.

Wells Fargo’s revenue from auto lending fell 24% to $273 million from a year earlier, while personal loan revenue fell 7% to $14.4 billion. Wells Fargo CFO Michael P. Santomassimo said during its earnings call Friday that the declines in auto and personal loan revenue were both “driven by lower loan balances and continued loan spread compression.”

For credit unions, the total car loan portfolio fell 1.8% to $499.3 billion from a year earlier, and fell 0.2% from July, compared with a10-year average August gain of 1%.

America’s Credit Unions’ report of 4,683 credit unions also showed:

• Savings were $1.99 trillion, up 4.9% from a year earlier, and up 1.2% from July, compared with a seven-year average August gain of 0.4%.
• The loans-to-savings ratio was 83.8% as of Aug. 31, compared with 85.0% a year earlier, 84.5%, a month earlier and seven-year August average of 83.9 percentage points.
• Borrowings and other liabilities were $151.7 billion, down 5% from a year earlier, and up 2.8% from July.
• The 60-day-plus delinquency rate was 0.91% as of Aug. 31, compared with 0.7% a year earlier and 0.87%, a month earlier, compared with a seven-year average August rate of 0.56%.
• Unsecured consumer term loans grew 7.9% to $74.2 billion from a year earlier, and rose 2.2% from July, compared with a 10-year average August gain of 1.1%.
• Credit cards grew 5.9% to $83.9 billion from a year earlier, and rose 0.9% from July, compared with a 10-year average August gain of 1.1%.
• Second-lien mortgages grew 20.5% to $153.1 billion from a year earlier, and rose 1.5% from July, compared with a 10-year average August gain of 1%.