Consumer lending

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.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's contentious rulemakings on arbitration and payday lending may be in jeopardy with the change in administrations and continued GOP control of Congress.

To jawbone Mexico into paying for the wall, President-elect Trump has threatened to suspend remittances. Such a move would disrupt one of the busiest corridors of money in the world.

Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a measure to cap interest rates on payday, installment and auto title loans at 36%, while rejecting a competing amendment sponsored by a large payday lender.

Depending on the outcome of the election, the fight over two conflicting state ballot initiatives could provide a road map for the embattled payday lending industry or consumer activists seeking bans in other states.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two New York debt collectors for deceiving and harassing millions of consumers to pay inflated debts.

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.

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%.