LAS VEGAS — Many auto lenders expect to find financing growth through new products or services in 2018, according to a poll conducted at the 2017 Auto Finance Summit late last month.
Out of all attendee respondents, 36% said new products and services is where they expect to find growth, trailed by “geographic expansion” with a response of 23%.
Additionally, “underwriting changes” and “acquisitions or partnerships” each received 18% of responses.
Overall, 2018 is shaping up to be a good year in auto finance as only 5% of respondents claimed that no growth is anticipated in 2018.
The U.S. auto market will “continue to improve” on the heels of a good economy and low interest rates, without threat of recession through at least March 2018, Eugenio Alemán, director and senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, told attendees at AFS 2017 in a presentation.
“We have tried to calculate that recession probability, and it is 0% today,” he said, adding that the prediction extends for the next six months.