Prime auto ABS

Volkswagen Bank's Driver 15 is its first German auto-loan securitization since March, as Europe's largest auto-finance company furthers a comeback from the 2015 VW diesel-engine scandal.

SUVs account for 41.3% of receivables backing HAROT 2018-3; that's up from 37.9% of Honda's prior deal and the first time exposure has increased since early 2017.

Credit metrics for the $799.9 million deal are better, by some measures, but rating agencies are concerned that delinquencies in the $10.2 billion managed portfolio are slightly higher, year-on-year.

The U.S. captive finance arms of Nissan North America and Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz) have joined CarMax in sponsoring prime-loan asset-backed portfolios adding to a deal spree totaling $61.3 billion so far in 2018.

New collateral can be added to the $824.2M Ford Credit Auto Owner Trust REV 2018-2 until 2023; that's two years less than the revolving period on its prior deal, completed in January.

As more new-vehicle buyers flock to General Motors' high-ticket trucks and SUVs, GM Financial has to supply riskier 60-plus month loans to finance them. That's prompting higher net ABS loss projections from Fitch.

With sales recovering from the the fading diesel-engine emissions scandal from 2015, Volkswagen's U.S. captive finance arm is inviting prime auto-loan investors out for a drive for the first time since 2014.

The concentration of loans with terms of 73-75 months has breached 13%, after ranging from between 10-12% from five previous AART issues since 2016.

Five classes of notes will be issued in the transaction, BBVA Consumer Auto 2018-1, which is backed by a pool of well-seasoned loans on new and used cars that will revolve for an initial period of 1.5 years.

The average FICO for the pool of lease obligors is at a peak level for GM Financial's shelf, but Fitch expects higher losses on resale values on a pool more heavily dependent on longer-term leases and luxury models.