Consumer lending

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.

The piling on at Wells Fargo has reached an unprecedented level, even for a bank. Fifteen investigations are underway into Wells' phony account openings. Experts are quantifying the damage to Wells' reputation and what the bank can do going forward to repair it.

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.

Two San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would "end all business with Wells Fargo," in response to the fake account scandal and other practices that have harmed consumers.

In states with strict rules on small-dollar loans, lenders could see an opening in the language of the CFPB rule to actually hike rates, observers say.

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.

WASHINGTON — Eighteen Republican State Attorneys Generals sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week pushing back against the agency's proposal to rein in high-cost small-dollar loans.

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%.

The agency said Wednesday it has received more than 500,000 comments on the proposal — and many more may be filed in the coming days.