Auto loans have gone from the least risky credit product post-recession to the riskiest today, and it's not a subprime story. VantageScore research tracing delinquency data back to 2010 points to something more structural.

In this episode, Dr. Rikard Bandebo, Chief Economist and Chief Strategy Officer at VantageScore, breaks down what's really driving auto loan stress and what lenders should do about it.

In the full episode, Rikard covers:
➡️ Why prime borrowers are driving more of the delinquency increase than subprime
➡️ How a 57% rise in average auto loan balances since 2010, compounded by higher rates, is squeezing consumers across credit tiers
➡️ Why rising personal loan balances alongside auto delinquencies may signal a debt spiral and how cash flow data can help lenders get ahead of it

Plus, VantageScore's Atif Mirza breaks down the latest CreditGauge™ data for August 2025, including superprime delinquencies posting the sharpest year-over-year rise, unsecured credit growing faster than secured, and credit card utilization climbing to 30.7%.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Late-stage delinquencies are rising across all credit tiers, the average VantageScore dropped to 701, and more consumers are shifting into subprime. At the same time, leading institutions are rethinking how they make credit decisions, and machine learning is changing what's possible.

In this episode, Jay Budzik, SVP and Director of AI and Machine Learning Operations at Fifth Third Bank, explains how the same technologies that power voice transcription and lane-assist in your car are now being deployed to make more accurate and fair credit decisions.

In the full episode, Jay covers:
➡️ How upgrading to more accurate credit scores can simultaneously improve bank profitability and expand access to credit for overlooked borrowers
➡️ Why transparency and explainability have historically been the biggest challenge for machine learning in credit, and how the field has evolved to address it
➡️ What Fifth Third watches beyond credit scores, including consumer deposit data as a first-stop indicator of financial health

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for July 2025, including the average VantageScore declining to 701 as more consumers shift into subprime, mortgage, and auto loan delinquencies, posting the largest year-over-year increases, and a divergence emerging between secured lending softening and unsecured credit growing.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

The FHFA just made history. For the first time, GSE-funded mortgages can be underwritten using a scoring model other than the classic FICO score. VantageScore 4.0 is now approved, and the mortgage market is working through what that means.

In this episode, Armine Karajyan, Senior Director of RMBS at KBRA, shares her analysis of the FHFA announcement and what KBRA's research on hundreds of thousands of VS4 data points reveals about the model's performance.

In the full episode, Armine covers:
➡️ Why KBRA considers the FHFA decision a historic shift and what it means for housing affordability and credit access
➡️ What KBRA's data shows about how VantageScore 4.0 scores borrowers differently, particularly in the mid-score range and among previously unscored consumers
➡️ Her 12-month outlook for mortgage originations, private label securitization, and the purchase vs. refinance mix

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for June 2025, including subprime late-stage delinquencies rising sharply from 2% to 2.5%, auto loan delinquencies posting the largest increase of any product, and average balances hitting a five-year high for the sixth consecutive month.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Mortgage delinquencies posted the largest year-over-year increase of any credit product, and superprime delinquencies tripled. Three forces are driving it: inflation, rising home prices, and a credit scoring system built for a very different economy.

In this episode, Tony Hutchinson, EVP and Head of Public Affairs at VantageScore and a former executive at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, explains why the mortgage market's continued reliance on legacy scoring models is worsening the problem.

In the full episode, Tony covers:
➡️ Why inflation, home price appreciation, and outdated scoring models are converging to drive mortgage delinquencies higher
➡️ How VantageScore 4.0 brings in rent payment history and other modern data signals that legacy models ignore
➡️ What an Urban Institute study found about rent payments as a predictor of mortgage affordability

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for May 2025, including mortgage delinquencies posting the biggest year-over-year increase of any product, average credit balances reaching a five-year high for the fifth consecutive month, and early-stage delinquencies rising across nearly all credit tiers.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Auto loans are surging as consumers rush to lock in purchases ahead of tariffs, but early-stage auto delinquencies jumped 32% month over month. For ABS investors and lenders, the question is how tariffs will impact the market.

In this episode, Mike Girard, Senior Director of Asset-Backed Securities at Fitch Ratings, breaks down how tariffs are already disrupting vehicle production and why Fitch revised its 2025 new vehicle sales forecast down from 16 million to 15 million units.

In the full episode, Mike covers:
➡️ How tariffs could create a post-pandemic-style supply shock in the auto market, with worse consumer conditions this time
➡️ Why Fitch revised its auto ABS performance outlook to deteriorating for both prime and subprime
➡️ How lenders expanding their credit box to maintain sales volume could compound the risk

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for April 2025, including auto loan originations edging above pre-pandemic levels, early-stage auto delinquencies jumping 32% month-over-month, and overall balances holding at a five-year high for the fourth straight month.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Consumer credit stabilized in March, the average VantageScore rebounded to 702, and credit card balances held essentially flat. But behind the scenes, institutional investors are growing more cautious about the direction of the economy.

In this episode, Joe Lau, President and Chief Investment Officer of Lord Capital and Chairman of the Fixed Income Investor Network, explains the critical role the asset-backed securities market plays in consumer finance and what happens to credit access when investor sentiment shifts.

In the full episode, Joe covers:
➡️ Why ABS investors are more cautious today than 6 to 12 months ago, and what would change that
➡️ How student loan repayment resumption is creating a secondary risk for consumer ABS performance
➡️ What most consumers don't realize is happening in the background when they walk into a dealership and get a loan

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for March 2025, including the average VantageScore rebounding to 702, delinquencies improving across all categories, and balance-to-loan ratios declining across all products.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Auto loan delinquencies are rising across all categories, the average VantageScore credit score dropped for the first time in 11 months, and student loan reporting resumption is already showing up in late-stage delinquency data. What does the rest of 2025 look like for consumer lenders?

In this episode, Kelsey Zhu, Director and Senior Research Analyst at Autonomous Research, shares her data-driven outlook for consumer lending across every major credit product in 2025, including why she is significantly more cautious than the street consensus on mortgage volume growth.

In the full episode, Kelsey covers:
➡️ Why consumer demand for credit remains weak despite early signs of supply-side easing
➡️ Her proprietary forecast for mortgage origination volume growth in 2025 and why it diverges sharply from Fannie Mae and the MBA
➡️ Her outlook for credit cards, auto, and fintech originations through 2027

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for February 2025, including auto loan delinquencies rising across all categories, the average VantageScore declining to 701 for the first time in 11 months, and late-stage delinquencies jumping as student loan reporting resumed.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are about to be reported delinquent, some for the first time in five years. With 45 million borrowers and over $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt, the resumption of student loan credit reporting is one of the most significant events in consumer credit in recent memory.

In this episode, Dan Currell, Former Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education, breaks down the complexity, uncertainty, and payment challenges facing borrowers, and what lenders should expect as delinquencies begin to hit credit files.

In the full episode, Dan covers:
➡️ Why millions of borrowers haven't made a payment in years and what happens now
➡️ The servicer complexity leaving many borrowers confused about who they owe
➡️ What lenders should anticipate as federal student loan delinquencies surface on credit reports

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for January 2025, including auto loan delinquencies reaching a five-year high, credit card originations declining post-holiday, and overall balances continuing to inch higher.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Student loan delinquencies haven't appeared on credit files for nearly five years, and starting in early 2025, they're back. With over $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, lenders face a significant blind spot as consumer credit stress begins to build.

In this debut episode, Dr. Rikard Bandebo, Chief Economist and Chief Strategy Officer at VantageScore, breaks down what the return of student loan reporting means for lenders, borrowers, and credit scores.

In the full episode, Rikard covers:
➡️ Why student loan delinquency reporting resumption is a critical moment for lenders
➡️ How borrowers with strong credit histories could see scores drop by over 100 points from a single missed payment
➡️ How open banking and consumer-permissioned data can improve credit model predictiveness

Plus, VantageScore's Susan Fahy and Atif Mirza break down the latest CreditGauge™ data for December 2024, including credit card delinquencies improving year-over-year despite rising overall delinquencies, balances tracking in line with inflation, and consumers showing signs of credit caution heading into 2025.

Download the full CreditGauge™ analysis at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.

Updated monthly, VantageScore’s CreditGauge LIVE features the latest newsmakers and insights into consumer credit health. 

Download the full CreditGauge analysis for free at vantagescore.com/lenders/credit-gauge.