Wells Fargo Insights

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and TD Auto Finance all see opportunities in providing financing to dealers for inventory, the purchase of competitors and the addition of infrastructure for electric vehicle sales. Two other banks recently said they're exiting the business, which could provide a further opening.

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the bank is "not making rapid progress" and hinted at the possibility of additional restrictions. But analysts saw positives for Wells in the $3.7 billion consent order.

An administrative law judge has recommended that a trio of onetime Wells executives be ordered to pay a combined $18.5 million in connection with the bank's fake-accounts scandal.

Servicing gains failed to offset steep origination declines at the bank, which continues to battle allegations of racial discrimination.

The megabank's scale hasn't made it immune from the deposit wars that have crimped bank profits. But the "stabilization" that Wells Fargo flagged is a positive sign as other banks start reporting earnings.

The collateral has subprime credit attributes, the credit quality of the Westlake 2024-3 pool was incrementally better than the 2024-2 transaction, and notably better than the 2023-4 deal.

For one, the deal is expected to include only Japanese foreign obligors—historically strong and comparable to U.S. obligors—from the pool of 9,333 loans.

Since 2019, the portfolio has recorded five defaults—driven by bankruptcies—and each was resolved with a 100% recovery rate, Fitch said.

Known at BLAST 2024-3, the deal will issue five classes of notes with subprime auto loans serving as collateral, even if the pool is upsized to $680 million.