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 the 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.
