Shares of General Motors reached an important milestone on Friday, closing above their initial public offering price of $33 for the first time in more than two years. GM shares reached $33.SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) — Banks and finance companies are writing more auto loans now that the risk of delinquency is down.
Experian Automotive says the total amount of U.S. auto loans rose 5.5 percent to $682 billion in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. While more loans are being written, the balance is still 3 percent lower than in the second quarter of 2007, before the recession began.
Experian says banks are taking more risks on loans because more customers are paying their bills on time.
Just 2.52 percent of loans were 30 days delinquent and 0.58 percent were 60 days delinquent in the second quarter. Those are historic lows.
Vehicle repossessions also dropped 28 percent from a year ago, to less than 1 percent.
