Big banks back off consumer car loans (banks take wait-and-see approach to vehicle business)

Source: Detroit News

Monday, November 10, 2008
Big banks back off consumer car loans
Credit for buyers tight as many banks take wait-and-see approach to vehicle business.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

Despite a $700 billion bailout, the nation's big banks are not in any rush to get back into the automotive lending business -- more bad news for an automobile industry struggling to rebound from some of the worst sales in decades.

The federal government's bailout of Wall Street was supposed to get America's credit markets moving again, but experts say they have been slow to loosen their purse strings.

"I haven't seen any impact yet," said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian's automotive group. "We're starting to see a little bit of a loosening, but it has not been significant."

One Wall Street source told The Detroit News that some banks have decided to remain on the sidelines, waiting to see how the car market shakes out over the next several months -- despite having received billions in taxpayer dollars to get the credit channels moving again.

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081110/AUTO01/811100359

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Article posted at DN at 12:37pm EST.

These sonsofbitches are deliberately trying to kill what's left of the Big 3.

...

won't lend to folks who want to buy a car now!

How can a business survive if its customers can't get credit for big ticket items?

Oh yes, and the Big 3 have huge pension and health care expenses for their retirees. Those are benefits bargained for long ago, often at the expense of current wages.

The Asian car manufacturers in the U.S. offer only a 401(k) and no help with a Medi-Gap program to cover what Medicare doesn't cover. If they had been in the U.S. for 100 years like GM and Ford, they would have the same pension and health care liabilities that the Big 3 have, and would be suffering as well.

It appears all they are giving out are bonuses.

we wouldn't have taken it out at all- except that once we decided to buy on saturday, it was too late to access the funds at our bank, and the dealership wanted to send us home in the car.

....in the Portland Press Herald on local banks getting out of the car-loan business. Bangor Savings and Northeast Savings both bailed.

local bank here. Never did like the idea of putting money in a bank which would just send it somewhere back east. This $300 million local standalone is good enough for me. And no, they didn't do subprimes or derivatives....