Prepare for “Interesting Times”

These are “interesting times” for the vehicle financing / servicing industry. The market, like the economy in general, went through various gyrations this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is currently at an all-time high: nearly $1.3 trillion. Despite high unemployment, serious delinquencies remain relatively low and the share of deep subprime debt is trending down. Will this continue? Or will the second wave of COVID cause the economy to slow again, and housing-related forbearances and moratoriums to end, putting more pressure on household balance sheets? Meanwhile, states continue to broaden consumer protection, restrict the use of vehicle disabling technology and require new post-repossession notifications.