InfoBytes Blog
CFPB Reports Increase in Longer-Term Auto Loans
On November 1, the CFPB released a report finding an increase in the number of auto loans with terms of six years or longer. Specifically, the report notes that these longer-term loans made up 42 percent of auto loans originated in 2017, an increase from 26 percent of auto loans originated in 2009. The report observes that, while longer-term loans may make monthly payments more affordable, it is not clear that consumers are “better off” or more likely to repay such loans because of the increased financing costs and larger amounts financed.
The report is a product of the CFPB’s Consumer Credit Trends tool (previously covered by InfoBytes) – a web-based resource that collects data on the auto finance, credit card, mortgage, and student loan markets. The tool’s data is drawn from a “nationally representative sample of credit records” kept by one of the top three U.S. credit reporting companies.