Why Americans Are Falling Behind on Auto Loans At Their Highest Level Ever | Odd Lots

By and large, American households are in a healthy economic position. Yes, unemployment has been rising, but it's still at fairly low levels. Consumer spending has held up well despite terrible sentiment. And many households are sitting on huge stock market gains and have a big home equity cushion. And yet there are signs of trouble. Most notably, auto loan delinquencies have been surging to their highest level in history. It's the same with student loans, where delinquencies are far higher than normal. So what's going on? On this episode we speak with Rikard Bandebo, the chief economist at VantageScore, which offers a consumer credit score that's different from the traditional FICO measures. He explains how surging prices, rising interests, and -- crucially -- rising insurance costs have created such an auto squeeze. We also discuss what this means for broader consumer health and whether this auto delinquency phenomenon signals something broader about consumer stress. Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots:    • Odd Lots (Audio)   Get the Odd Lots newsletter via https://www.bloomberg.com/account/new... And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots 0:00 K-Shaped Economy Discussion Preview 1:41 Consumer Sentiment Confusion 2:53 Household Balance Sheets and Market Performance 4:03 Lending Standards and Historical Context 4:57 Guest Introduction: VantageScore and Credit Scoring 7:29 Credit Scoring Methodology and Predictive Analysis 10:48 VantageScore Innovations and Expanded Coverage 15:22 Credit Scores as Relative Risk Measures 18:17 External Economic Factors in Credit Assessment 19:48 K-Shaped Economy Deep Dive 21:26 Mortgage Rates and Housing Market Impact 26:33 Delinquency Trends and Consumer Stress Timeline 31:04 Shopping Patterns and Economic Indicators 33:35 Income vs. Wealth in Credit Risk 36:03 Auto Loan Crisis Analysis 41:00 Buy Now Pay Later and Hidden Leverage 43:15 Current Delinquency Status Across Products 43:49 Insurance Rate Impacts 45:12 Student Loan Payment Resumption 48:23 Conclusion and Economic Outlook Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. #OddLots #Markets #Investing #Business #Finance #Podcast Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video