Subprime lending

AmeriCredit returns to securitization for the first time since November with a $1.1 billion deal, while Flagship's $223 million deal, its second of 2018, takes a step back in collateral quality.

The senior tranche of Credit Acceptance Auto Loan Trust 2018-2 benefits from initial credit enhancement of 51.61%, up from 49.93% in a February deal; it comes from additional subordination.

Auto lenders would be well advised to keep up their guard as states — particularly blue ones — take steps of their own to crack down on what they see as abusive practices.

While DBRS maintained a rating of AA for the Lendmark Financial's first ABS of 2018, S&P issued an A rating after estimating higher net losses on the underlying subprime accounts.

RAC King (d/b/a American Car Center) has expanded rapidly since being acquired in a 2016 leveraged buyout; now it's bundling most of its portfolio into collateral for bonds.

The $185 million transaction features a higher exposure to borrowers entering bankruptcy than the sponsor's 2016 deal; it's also more seasoned, since it recycles 2014 collateral.

Higher LTVs and fewer low-risk, new-car loans trumped the recent decline in managed-portfolio delinquencies and improved ABS performance since 2015.

The subprime auto lender failed to disclose that it received fees for referring borrowers to CarMax, the used-car dealer, according to California's financial regulator.

But GMF's deeper dive into long-term loans for a pool increasingly dominated by pricier trucks and SUVs caused a slight bump in expected ABS credit losses.

The performance of outstanding transactions issued via the Capital Auto Receivables Trust platform is weakening, so rating agencies are demanding additional investor protections.