Small businesses are getting a lot of attention right now. With the presidential election, Affordable Care Act and talk of the looming fiscal cliff, small business health and survival concerns have been widely discussed across the United States.

Earlier this year, Experian’s Business Information Services and Moody’s Analytics, a leading independent provider of economic forecasting, joined forces to create a business index and detailed report that provides insight into the health of U.S. businesses. The Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index is reported quarterly to show fluctuations in the market and discuss factors that are impacting the business economy.

The recently released Small Business Credit Index for third quarter 2012 showed that small business credit quality began deteriorating in Q3 after four consecutive quarters of improvement. Findings from the report also indicated that severely delinquent account balances and slower consumer spending growth posed a significant challenge to small businesses that will likely continue throughout the rest of 2012 and most of 2013.

Details from the analysis also highlighted several other areas affecting small business including job growth, payment trends, consumer spending, raising home prices and unemployment.

To download a full copy of the report, please visit www.experian.com/SmallBusinessCreditIndex

Experian Automotive today announced that loans to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep-subprime risk tiers accounted for more than one in four new vehicle loans in Q2 2012.

With 25.41 percent of all new vehicle loans to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep subprime risk tiers, loans to credit-challenged customers were up 14 percent compared to Q2 2011.

In addition, new vehicle loans to credit-challenged customers now are higher than they were in Q2 2007 (24.96 percent) and Q2 2008 (24.49 percent) just prior to the financial market crisis.

However, the Q2 analysis also shows that lenders are still taking a cautious approach, keeping loan-to-value (LTV) ratios (the amount of money paid over the life of a loan versus the purchase price of the vehicle) lower than they were a year ago.

For new vehicles, the average LTV ratio was 109.55 percent in Q2 2012, compared to 115.65 percent in Q2 2011.

“Despite the rise in subprime loans overall, there is still a strong sense of managing risk,” said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive.

“Because the overall lending environment has improved, lenders are making loans available to a wider range of customers. This is good for manufacturers and dealers, as it allows them to sell more vehicles. However, the lower loan-to-value ratios show that lenders are not willing to throw caution to the winds.”

Additionally, the Q2 report showed that the average customer credit score for new vehicle loans dropped nine points, from 762 in Q2 2011 to 753 in Q2 2012. For used vehicle loans, the average customer credit score also dropped nine points from 671 in Q2 2011 to 662 in Q2 2012.

• The average amount financed for a new vehicle increased $474, from $25,240 in Q2 2011 to $25,714 in Q2 2012.
• The average amount financed for a used vehicle jumped $370 from $17,063 in Q2 2011 to $17,433 in Q2 2012.
• The average monthly payment for both new and used vehicles was relatively flat, with new vehicles rising by $2, from $450 in Q2 2011 to $452 in Q2 2012. For used vehicles, monthly payments jumped $4, from $347 in Q2 2011 to $351 in Q2 2012.

Complete findings from the State of the Automotive Finance Market Q2 2012 credit trends analysis will be presented in a Webinar at 11 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Central/2 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 6. If you would like to register for the event, visit www.ExperianAutomotive.com.

Experian Automotive’s quarterly credit trend analysis features market reporting data and analysis from its AutoCount® Risk Report, which analyzes automotive lending markets based on a uniform measurement of credit quality that segments markets by geography, credit score and vehicle registrations, among other factors.

It also incorporates data from the Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Reports, which provide topical, quarterly analysis; peer benchmarking options; and commentary on key issues facing the financial services industry.

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While the runways boast couture and fashions that you rarely see walking down the street, some of the top cities in the U.S. are keeping comfortable in their sweats.

For the second year in a row, the nation’s top per capita consumer of sweats is Philadelphia, PA while New York was seventh, Los Angeles ranked eighth, and Chicago was twentieth.

The top 10 cities for sweats consumption:

1.  Philadelphia, PA
2. Hartford, CT
3. Pittsburgh, PA
4. Lafayette, LA
5. Laredo, TX
6. Boston, MA
7. New York, NY
8. Los Angeles, CA
9. Victoria, TX
10. Scranton, PA

Perhaps these purchases are travel-related.  Spirit Airlines passengers are the biggest buyers of sweats, followed by Jet Blue, Continental and US Air. Foreign airlines have really high sweat purchase numbers too – especially Asian carriers. On the flip side, Southwest Airlines passengers buy the fewest number of sweat apparel items.

Source: Experian Marketing Services Simmons

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A recent Experian Automotive credit trends study revealed that vehicle history can have a major impact on loan performance. The study found that more than 2 percent of the late-model used vehicles (model year 2005 and newer) had a negative vehicle history event (frame damage, salvage, odometer rollback, etc.), which can significantly impact the vehicle’s value.

The study also showed that while these instances occur across all credit segments, more than 3 percent of financing outside of prime had negative vehicle history.

Vehicles with a negative history event also referred to as “brand”, also have a higher percentage of charge-offs for lending institutions. By leveraging information within vehicle history reports, lenders can identify branded vehicles when the loan is made and mitigate losses from charge-offs and from loss of value when sending repossessed vehicles to auction.

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