Auto lending

The auto lending group is touting loan growth of more than 16% for its CU partners throughout 2016.

Profit surged at BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., during the fourth quarter, driven by various acquisitions and growth in business lending.

A House Republican report, charging that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray "may have broken the law" when the agency cracked down on auto lenders, appeared to escalate the GOP's clash with the agency.

Credit unions have enjoyed a multiyear run of solid growth in membership and originations. Rising rates and the potential for regulatory overhaul could mean new competition — just as refi volumes are set to fall.

Late-payment rates on bank-issued credit cards and auto loans rose during the third quarter of 2016 to their highest levels in more than two years, according to a new report.

Ally Financial in Detroit has agreed to provide up to $600 million in financial backing for Carvana’s online auto sales.

The commercial-and-industrial loan space is overheated, higher rates could stifle mortgage refinancings, and subprime auto delinquencies are on the rise. Bankers could be fighting these fires and more in the new year.

Chemical CEO David Ramaker has a wide range of options — diversify business lines, expand organically in several Midwestern states, pursue M&A or all of the above — following his recent acquisition of Talmer. But new challenges accompany Chemical's higher profile, too.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has hired a former Regions Financial executive to lead several of its consumer lending groups.

Smaller institutions have increased the size of their auto books in the last year, with the 25 most-active lenders reporting a nearly 7% increase. More borrower demand and a pullback by some bigger lenders are contributing to the rise.

Lawsuits can be costly and time-consuming for all parties, so many plaintiffs’ attorneys are now trying to win quick settlements for their clients by bombarding banks with letters simply threatening them with lawsuits. One plaintiffs’ attorney admits to sending 250 such letters a month.

The decisions by JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third and other banks to keep subprime auto lending in check look wise after new delinquency data from the New York Fed.

Ally Financial in Detroit has agreed to pay $52 million to settle probes and claims related to its role as the underwriter for subprime residential mortgage-backed securities in 2006 and 2007.

Applicants for credit cards, auto loans and mortgages are more frequently being told "No," and the reason appears to be more about lenders' new marketing efforts than stricter underwriting or weaker credit profiles.

Ally Financial, one of the nation's largest automobile lenders, saw profits fall during the third quarter as more motorists fell behind on their car payments.

The online lender is entering the car-loan market at a time when some banks are scaling back and regulators are sounding the alarm about deteriorating underwriting standards.

Amid shrinking yields, rising delinquencies and repeated warnings from regulators about frothy market conditions, several banks said on earnings calls that they plan to scale back or hold the line on indirect auto lending.

TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., on Friday reported higher profits, mostly from gains on the sale of auto loans.

Subprime borrowers are falling behind on their car loan payments at the highest rate in more than six years, and some bonds backed by these loans are vulnerable to getting downgraded, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The 1.35% delinquency rate was the lowest since at least 2001, and it marked nearly four years of delinquencies below the 15-year average of 2.21%.