Wells Fargo Auto’s originations surge 87% YoY

Wells Fargo Auto ’s originations soared in the second quarter as credit tightening yielded stronger performance. Auto originations totaled $6.9 billion, up 86.5% year over year and 50% quarter over quarter , according to Wells Fargo’s earnings supplement today. Chase Auto ’s originations in Q2 rose 4.6% YoY to $11.3 billion, according to JPMorgan Chase 's earnings report today. Wells Fargo's auto portfolio sat at $42.9 billion in Q2, down 3.2% YoY but up 3.4% QoQ. The bank was the 11th-largest auto lender by outstandings at yearend 2024 with a portfolio of $42.9 billion, according to the latest Big Wheels Rankings data . Growth follows the bank’s launch in May of a deal with Volkswagen to provide preferred financing for Volkswagen , Audi and Ducati brands in the United States. “Ending balances in our auto portfolio grew for the first time in over three years,” Wells Fargo Chief Executive and President Charlie Scharf said during the bank's earnings call today. 30-day delinquencies drop 59 bps YoY Auto revenue dropped 15% YoY, in part due to lower loan balances and loan spread compression due to credit tightening, Chief Financial Officer Michael Santomassimo said during the call. “While these actions have reduced revenue, they have improved credit performance,” he said. “Auto revenue increased 2% from the first quarter, the first linked-quarter increase since fourth quarter 2021.” Auto loans 30-plus days delinquent accounted for 1.72% of outstandings, down 59 basis points (bps) YoY and 15 bps QoQ, according to the supplement. The rate of auto net charge-offs was 0.29%, down 41 bps YoY and 33 bps QoQ. The allowance for auto credit losses totaled $657 billion, or 1.53% of the portfolio, down 29 bps YoY and up 1 bps QoQ. The average interest rate for auto loans ticked up to 5.48% in Q2 compared with 5.09% in Q2 2024 and 5.33% in Q1. Commercial commitments rise 1.7% On the commercial side, auto-related commitments totaled $31.2 billion, up 1.7% YoY and 0.8% QoQ, according to the supplement. Commercial auto-related outstandings sat at $16.6 billion, down 3.4% YoY but up 0.9% QoQ. Looking ahead, Wells expects measured gains in auto through the rest of the year, Santomassimo said. “We started to see some growth in auto — small, but [we] started to see that turn,” he said. In other news, Wells Fargo named Kevin Reen its new head of auto last month, succeeding Tanya Sanders , who became chief administrative officer of consumer lending. Shares of Wells Fargo [NYSE: WFC] were down 5.4% at market close to $78.86. Wells Fargo has a market capitalization of $256.62 billion. Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event for auto lending and leasing, returns Oct. 15-17 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. To learn more about the 2025 event and register, visit www.AutoFinance.live/AFS .

Wells Fargo Auto’s originations surge 87% YoY

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