ATLANTA — The latest Equifax National Credit Trends Report revealed that auto finance companies have increased lending by more than 47 percent over the past two years. Auto finance lenders also have outpaced bank and credit union in lending to subprime borrowers over the same time period.

The report indicated that there were 854,800 auto finance company-originated loans in July 2011 vs. 581,300 for July 2009. Auto loans made to subprime borrowers now account for 38.5 percent of all auto loan originations for auto finance companies and 17.6 percent for banks and credit unions — numbers that are quickly approaching pre-recession levels, reported F&I and Showroom magazine.

By contrast, 820,200 loans were originated by banks and credit unions for the same period in July 2011 vs. 832,000 for July 2009, a decrease of less than 2 percent, according to Equifax.

Delinquency rates continue to improve for outstanding auto loans currently 60 or more days past due, which have fallen to 1.63 percent of loans. The improvement reflects a continuation of sustained credit retraction that the auto lending industry has experienced earlier than other lending segments, said Michael Koukounas, senior vice president of Special Client Services for Equifax.

“With unemployment rates remaining elevated for a prolonged period, auto lenders have proactively adopted more comprehensive data and verification tools for greater loan-level transparency in evaluating a wider band of consumers, which has helped enable the auto lending industry to recover more quickly than others,” he noted.

In July 2011, 1.7 million auto loans worth $32 billion collectively were originated, according to Equifax. From January to July 2011, 11.3 million new auto loans worth a collective $213.9billion (a 14.8 percent increase vs. the same six-month period last year) had been originated, a 13.2 percent increase over January-July 2010 totals.

The report also revealed that average monthly payment has remained relatively unchanged over the last year, signaling that the growth the industry is experiencing is tied to increases in number of loans rather than an increase in average loan amount, Koukounas added.

Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in April, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly report.

Non-revolving credit, which includes auto loans, rose at an annual rate of 7.1 percent in April. Revolving credit continued its month to month decline and fell at an annual rate of 12 percent.

Interest rates on new-vehicle loans continued to drop and reached 4.13 percent in April, down from 4.28 percent in March, but still higher than 3.94 percent in January.

Loan terms remained stable month to month at 62.8 months in April. This was slightly above the 62.5 months recorded in February and down from the 63.5 months posted in January.

The loan-to-value ratio on new-car loans remained steady month to month at 88 percent in April, but was down from 89 percent in February and 90 percent in January.

Amount financed also fell for the fourth-consecutive month to $27,797 in April, down from $27,912 in March. The amount financed in April was $243 less than the $28,040 recorded in February, and $1,582 less than the $29,379 posted in January.

Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the third quarter and continued to decline in October, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly report.

The loan-to-value ratio on new-car loans increased to 93 percent in October, up from 91 percent in September. The average loan-to-value ratio in the third quarter was 90 percent.

The amount financed increased from $30,380 in September to $32,223 in October, an amount that was also $4,339 higher than the average amount financed in the third quarter ($27,884). Year-to-date, the month also represented the highest level for amount financed.

Additionally, interest rates dipped from 3.5 percent in September to 3.42 percent in October, which is more closely aligned with the July figure of 3.43 percent. The average interest rate in the third quarter was 3.66 percent.

Loan term increased slightly from 63.6 months in September to 64.4 months in October. Average loan term in the third quarter was 62.7 months.

Consumer credit patterns returned to their status quo in September, with interest rates, loan terms and loan-to-value ratios reverting to their pre-Cash for Clunkers (C4C) levels, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly report.

The loan-to-value ratio, which fell to 86 percent in August during C4C, rebounded to 91 percent in September.

The amount financed increased from $24,405 in August to $30,380 in September. Year-to-date, this was the highest level for amount financed for new-car loans.

Additionally, interest rates decreased from 4.06 in August to 3.5 in September, which is more closely aligned with the July figure of 3.43 percent. Loan lengths increased slightly from 61.8 months in August to 63.6 months in September.

Consumer credit patterns returned to their status quo in September, with interest rates, loan terms and loan-to-value ratios reverting to their pre-Cash for Clunkers (C4C) levels, according to the Federal Reserve’s monthly report.

The loan-to-value ratio, which fell to 86 percent in August during C4C, rebounded to 91 percent in September.

The amount financed increased from $24,405 in August to $30,380 in September. Year-to-date, this was the highest level for amount financed for new-car loans.

Additionally, interest rates decreased from 4.06 in August to 3.5 in September, which is more closely aligned with the July figure of 3.43 percent. Loan lengths increased slightly from 61.8 months in August to 63.6 months in September.