Auto, personal and credit card originations have fallen as delinquencies have risen, but researchers called the slowdown a temporary rebalancing by lenders.
Regulators and consumer activists are examining the relationships among banks, insurance companies and auto-loan borrowers following the new revelations about Wells Fargo and insurers' rising premium income.
Wells Fargo's regulators are looking into another issue involving insurance linked to auto loans as scrutiny of a key lending unit widens, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Wells Fargo's admission that it charged customers for auto policies they didn't request has prompted an investigation by a California's insurance regulator.
Wells Fargo & Co. customers accused the bank in a lawsuit of forcing them to pay for unnecessary auto insurance that drove some of them so far into a financial spiral that their vehicles were repossessed.
The bank forced hundreds of thousands of auto loan borrowers to take out insurance they didn't need, putting some into delinquency; a Russian man is arrested and charged in $4 billion money laundering scheme.
Wells Fargo's campaign to rebuild customer and shareholder trust just hit another bump, as the bank said it may have pushed thousands of car buyers into loan defaults and repossessions by charging them for unwanted insurance.
Valley National's latest acquisition would make it a much bigger player in Florida and provide a platform to write more auto loans. Both markets present attractive returns but high risks.
