Auto lending

The $938 million-asset company will incur $400,000 in expenses from shutting down the unit, including $300,000 for contract termination costs and $100,000 for severance and employee benefits.

The auto lender, a unit of the Spanish banking giant Banco Santander, repeatedly reassured investors that it has a handle on the subprime business.

Overall U.S. auto debt surged to $1.05 trillion in the third quarter, and the rise in subprime auto loan originations has heightened the New York Fed's concerns about that market.

Automobile lending reached its highest level ever at the end of the third quarter while showing few signs of credit weakness, the credit bureau Experian reported Wednesday.

The auto lender has changed the way it calculates its closely-watched provision for credit losses, a move that added to third-quarter profits and raised questions about the transparency of its loan book.

Ally Financial in Detroit drew more deposits into its online bank last quarter, which helped improve its lending margin even as profits declined.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings plans to exit personal lending and focus primarily on its auto-finance business.

Capital One Financial in McLean, Va., rode growth in its flagship U.S. credit card business to stronger third-quarter earnings.

Auto-lending profits helped make the quarter for Huntington Bancshares and TCF Financial, but their CEOs ended up on the hot seat, as they reported results a day after the U.S. comptroller of the currency issued another warning about declining credit quality in the market.

U.S. homeowners continue to take advantage of rising house prices to dig themselves out of the hole created by the Great Recession.