Regulator Raises Red Flag on Auto Lending

``Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry raised a rare red flag, saying in a speech that some activity in auto loans "reminds me of what happened in mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the crisis."... Subprime car-loan originations have taken off in recent years as lenders have loosened underwriting criteria in this sector, allowing for borrowers with low, and often no, credit scores to get access to financing. During the first half of 2015, lenders gave out $56.4 billion in subprime auto loans, up 13% from the same period a year ago and up 181% from the first half of 2009, when the market for these loans bottomed out, according to credit-reporting firm Equifax Inc.''