- More Americans are struggling to pay their bills and falling behind on their car payments, leading to a boom in the $1.7 billion industry for repossessing such assets as cars, trucks and boats.
- The percentage of subprime auto borrowers who were at least 60 days late on their bills was 5.3% in March, up from a seven-year low of 2.58% in May 2021 and higher than in 2009.
- Investors in the safest parts of today’s subprime auto bonds would still get their money back with interest even if more than three-quarters of the borrowers defaulted on their loans.
- Repossession companies are struggling to find enough workers to meet repo requests, with about half of conference attendees at the North American Repossessors Summit reporting staffing shortages.
- The industry is expected to have a major impact on countless ordinary lives and onto Wall Street, where car loans are packaged into bonds and sold to investors.
The Repo Man Returns as More Americans Fall Behind on Car Payments
Pandemic relief measures shielded many people from repossession, but that’s changing as interest rates and auto prices soar.
Claire Ballentine
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