Subprime redux: problems brewing in auto loans

It’s classic subprime: hasty loans, rapid defaults, and, at times, outright fraud.  Only this isn’t the U.S. housing market circa 2007. It’s the U.S. auto industry circa 2017.  A decade after the mortgage debacle, the financial industry has embraced another type of subprime debt: auto loans. And, like last time, the risks are spreading as they’re bundled into securities for investors worldwide. Here is a direct video link.

“Wall Street has rewarded lax lending standards that let people get loans without anyone verifying incomes or job histories. For instance, Santander recently vetted incomes on fewer than one out of every 10 loans packaged into $1 billion of bonds, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The largest portion were for Chrysler vehicles.  Some of their dealers, meantime, gamed the loan application process so low-income borrowers could drive off in new cars, state prosecutors said in court documents.”  Sound familiar?