As auto lending surges, US regulators worry about rising delinquencies

New York

REGULATORS are airing "significant concern" about the millions of Americans who are falling behind on their car loans, even as auto lending continues to boom at a near record pace.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted increasing distress among auto borrowers with shaky credit, as subprime delinquencies rose in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, 2 per cent of subprime auto loan balances became at least 90 days delinquent, up from 1.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2014. In the depths of the recession, in the second quarter of 2009, that rate peaked at 2.4 per cent.

"The increased level of distress associated with subprime loan delinquencies…