Atlanticus Holdings Corp (ATLC) FY 2024 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
OVERVIEW
Atlanticus is a financial technology company powering more inclusive financial solutions for everyday Americans. We leverage data, analytics, and innovative technology to unlock access to financial solutions for the millions of Americans who would otherwise be underserved. According to data published by Experian, 40% of Americans had FICO® scores of less than 700. We believe this equates to a population of over 100 million everyday Americans in need of access to credit. These consumers often have financial needs that are not effectively met by larger financial institutions. By facilitating appropriately priced consumer credit and financial service alternatives with value-added features and benefits curated for the unique needs of these consumers, we endeavor to empower better financial outcomes for everyday Americans. We provide technology and other support services to lenders who offer an array of financial products and services to consumers. Both private label and general purpose card products are originated by The Bank of Missouri and WebBank (collectively, our “bank partners”). Our bank partners originate these accounts through multiple channels, including retail and healthcare point-of-sale locations, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing and partnerships with third parties. The services of our bank partners are often extended to consumers who may not have access to financing options with larger financial institutions. Our flexible technology solutions allow our bank partners to integrate our paperless process and instant decisioning platform with the existing infrastructure of participating retailers, healthcare providers and other service providers. Using our technology and proprietary predictive analytics, lenders can make instant credit decisions utilizing hundreds of inputs from multiple sources and thereby offer credit to consumers overlooked by many providers of financing which focus exclusively on consumers with higher FICO scores. Atlanticus’ decisioning platform is enhanced by machine learning, enabling lenders to make fast, sound decisions when it matters most.
We are principally engaged in providing products and services to lenders in the U.S. for which these lenders pay us a fee and in most circumstances, the lenders are then obligated to sell us the receivables they generate from these products and services. We acquire these receivables for the principal amount of the loan. We compensate our bank partners monthly for the regulatory oversight they provide associated with our acquired receivables, the underlying accounts of which they continue to own and service, and also based on variable levels of the underlying performance of the acquired receivables (collectively, "Bank partner fees"). From time to time, we also purchase receivables portfolios from third parties other than our bank partners. In this Report, "receivables" or "loans" typically refer to receivables we have purchased from our bank partners or from other third parties.
Credit as a Service Segment
Currently, within our CaaS segment, we apply our technology solutions, in combination with the experiences gained, and infrastructure built from servicing over $42 billion in consumer loans over more than 25 years of operating history, to support lenders in offering more inclusive financial services. These products include private label credit cards using the Fortiva and Curae brand names as well as merchant associated brands. Private label credit products associated with the healthcare space are generally issued under the Curae brand while all other retail partnerships, including those in consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, and home-improvement use the Fortiva brand or use our retail partners’ brands. Our general purpose credit cards use the Aspire, Imagine and Fortiva brand names. Our flexible technology solutions allow our bank partners to integrate our paperless process and instant decisioning platform with the existing infrastructure of participating retailers, healthcare providers and other service providers.
Using our infrastructure and technology, we also provide loan servicing, including risk management and customer service outsourcing, for third parties. Also, through our CaaS segment, we engage in testing and limited investment in consumer technology platforms as we seek to capitalize on our expertise and infrastructure. Additionally, we report within our CaaS segment: 1) servicing income; and 2) gains or losses associated with notes receivable and equity investments previously made in consumer technology platforms. These include investments in companies engaged in mobile technologies, marketplace lending and other financial technologies. None of these companies are publicly-traded and the carrying value of our investment in these companies is not material. One of these companies, Fintiv Inc., has sued Apple, Inc., Walmart, Inc., and PayPal Holdings, Inc. for patent infringement. Fintiv Inc. has approximately 150 patents related to secure money transfer on computer and mobile devices. The transaction volume in these areas has increased dramatically over the last five years. If Fintiv Inc. is successful in the patent litigation, there could be large exposure, including treble damages for these companies. The claimed losses sustained by this patent infringement are substantial and could be measured in the billions of dollars. We believe on a diluted basis that we will own over 10% of the company. Apple has vigorously contested the claims, and we expect it to continue doing so. In light of the uncertainty around these lawsuits, we will continue to carry these investments on our books at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes.
All finance charges, fees and merchant fees are recognized into earnings through our Consumer loans, including past due fees (consisting of interest income, including finance charges, late payment fees on loans and merchant fees), Fees and related income on earning assets (consisting of annual or monthly maintenance fees, cash advance fees and other fees directly associated with the extension of credit) and Other revenue (consisting of servicing income, service charges and other customer related fees), on our Consolidated Statements of Income when they are billed to consumers or, in the case of merchant fees, upon completion of our services, which coincides with the funding of the loan by our bank partners. We value these loans and fee receivables within Changes in fair value of loans on our Consolidated Statements of Income to reflect our best estimate of ongoing economics and cash flows associated with existing consumer accounts including future estimates of finance and fee billings and consumer payment rates typical of the assumptions a market participant would use to calculate fair value.
Our credit and other operations are heavily regulated, potentially causing us to change how we conduct our operations either in response to regulation or in keeping with our goal of leading the industry in adherence to consumer-friendly practices. We have made meaningful changes to our practices over the past several years, and because our account management practices are evolutionary and dynamic, it is possible that we may make further changes to these practices, some of which may produce positive, and others of which may produce adverse, effects on our operating results and financial position. Customers at the lower end of the credit score range intrinsically have higher loss rates than do customers at the higher end of the credit score range. As a result, the products we support are priced to reflect expected loss rates for our various risk categories. See "Consumer and Debtor Protection Laws and Regulations—CaaS Segment" above and "We operate in a heavily regulated industry" in Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors" contained in this Report.
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Subject to possible disruptions caused by the uncertain economic environment, we believe that our private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables are generating, and will continue to generate, attractive returns on assets, thereby facilitating debt financing under terms and conditions (including advance rates and pricing) that will support attractive returns on equity, and we continue to pursue growth in this area.
The recurring cash flows we receive within our CaaS segment principally include those associated with (1) private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables, (2) servicing compensation and (3) credit card receivables portfolios that are unencumbered or where we own a portion of the underlying structured financing facility.
Private label credit
Our bank partners work with both us and with our retail partners to provide financing options to retail consumers. These financing options vary by retail partner and consists of a range in APRs of 0% - 36% and a range in merchant fees of 0% - 65%. Merchant fees are paid to us by our retail partners to facilitate transactions between our retail partners and its consumers by connecting our bank partners with the retail partners’ consumers. The merchant fees vary by retail partner, and are based on the value of the goods purchased from our retail partners and consider factors such as the consumer’s credit risk and the terms of our bank partners' related product offering. Merchant fees are paid to us by our retail partners at the time our bank partners remit funds to the retail partner for a consumer transaction. These merchant fees are used to enhance the overall return on receivables we acquire when contractual APRs or other terms are insufficient due to promotional or other below market pricing retail merchants may offer to consumers (such as 0% APR offers). These fees are recognized upon completion of our services, which coincides with the funding of the loan by our bank partners, in Consumer loans, including past due fees on our Consolidated Statements of Income. These merchant fees often offset the loss associated with the initial acquisition of the underlying receivable. As such, it is not always necessary for us to collect the aggregate unpaid gross balance of the underlying receivable to achieve desired returns.
Financing arrangements may include fees to enhance yields on a product including annual and/or monthly maintenance fees. Additionally, terms of these products offered by our bank partners to consumers may include deferred interest options whereby consumers pay no interest on their purchases over periods ranging from 6-12 months. Terms of these products can range from 12 months to 84 months based on the retail merchant partner. Each offer is customized for retail clients based on the expected performance of the underlying receivables, receivable purchase volumes and overall return requirements. Our flexible technology allows retail partners to present financing offers to their customers through a variety of delivery options including retail point of sale locations, online transactions, or through in home sales. These financing arrangements are based on underwriting standards tailored to each retail partner and are the result of a close collaboration between our bank partners and us to ensure all products are compliant with regulatory requirements and to ensure they provide attractive terms to consumers. When a consumer accepts the terms of a financing arrangement for the purchase of a good or service and completes the underlying transaction, our bank partners forward the net purchase price (net of merchant or other fees remitted to us) to the retail partner. Our bank partners are then obligated to sell, and we are obligated to purchase, the receivable (along with rights to all future finance and fee billings associated with the receivable) from our bank partners under similar terms.
General Purpose Credit Cards
We work closely with our bank partners to assist them in creating general purpose credit card offers. These offers have varying lines of credit ranging from $350 to $3,000, annual percentage rates (“APRs”) ranging from 19.99% to 36%, annual fees ranging from $0 to $175 and monthly maintenance fees ranging from $0 to $15. Working collaboratively with our bank partners, each offer our bank partners extend to a consumer is tailored based on the consumer’s individual risk profile. These offers include finance and fee structures designed to provide us with an adequate return on invested capital upon acquisition of any associated receivable. As a result, at the time an offer is extended to a consumer, the offer reflects market value and, when combined with other pooled receivables that have similar characteristics, would result in earnings associated with any upfront fees (such as annual or monthly maintenance fees) on the date of acquisition, net of any fair value assessment that may value the receivables at less than the gross amount of the receivable.
Our agreements with our bank partners obligate them to sell and for us to acquire the receivables associated with underlying purchases and subsequent fee and finance billings. We acquire these receivables for the principal amount of any related purchase which best reflects the receivables fair value at the time of acquisition with no gain or loss recognized beyond those described above. As discussed above, our bank partners continue to provide ongoing account management and oversight for both our Private label credit and General purpose credit card receivables, for which we compensate the bank partners monthly.
Auto Finance Segment
Within our Auto Finance segment, our CAR subsidiary operations principally purchase and/or service loans secured by automobiles from or for, and also provide floor-plan financing for, a pre-qualified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here used car business. We generate revenues on purchased loans through interest earned on the face value of the installment agreements combined with the accretion of discounts on loans purchased. We generally earn discount income over the life of the applicable loan. Additionally, we generate revenues from servicing loans on behalf of dealers for a portion of actual collections and by providing back-up servicing for similar quality assets owned by unrelated third parties. We offer a number of other products to our network of buy-here, pay-here dealers (including our floor-plan financing offering), but the majority of our activities are represented by our purchases of auto loans at discounts and our servicing of auto loans for a fee. As of December 31, 2024, our CAR operations served over 670 dealers in 34 states and two U.S. territories. The core operations continue to achieve profitability and generate positive cash flows.
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CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
| For the Year Ended December 31, | Increases (Decreases) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | from 2023 to 2024 | ||||||||
| Total operating revenue and other income | $ | 1,309,955 | $ | 1,155,246 | $ | 154,709 | |||||
| Other non-operating income | 1,489 | 630 | 859 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | (160,173 | ) | (109,342 | ) | 50,831 | ||||||
| Provision for credit losses | (16,368 | ) | (2,152 | ) | 14,216 | ||||||
| Changes in fair value of loans at fair value | (733,471 | ) | (689,577 | ) | 43,894 | ||||||
| Net margin | 401,432 | 354,805 | 46,627 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Salaries and benefits | (50,143 | ) | (43,906 | ) | 6,237 | ||||||
| Card and loan servicing | (118,400 | ) | (100,620 | ) | 17,780 | ||||||
| Marketing and solicitation | (56,186 | ) | (52,421 | ) | 3,765 | ||||||
| Depreciation | (2,715 | ) | (2,560 | ) | 155 | ||||||
| Other | (35,411 | ) | (26,740 | ) | 8,671 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses: | (262,855 | ) | (226,247 | ) | 36,608 | ||||||
| Net income | $ | 110,106 | $ | 101,954 | $ | 8,152 | |||||
| Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | 1,190 | 891 | 299 | ||||||||
| Net income attributable to controlling interests | $ | 111,296 | $ | 102,845 | $ | 8,451 | |||||
| Net income attributable to controlling interests to common shareholders | $ | 87,368 | $ | 77,647 | $ | 9,721 |
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
Total operating revenue and other income. Total operating revenue and other income consists of: 1) interest income, finance charges and late fees on consumer loans, 2) other fees on credit products including annual and merchant fees and 3) interchange and servicing income on loan portfolios and other customer related fees.
Period-over-period results primarily relate to growth in private label credit and general purpose credit card products, the receivables of which increased to $2,724.8 million as of December 31, 2024, from $2,411.3 million as of December 31, 2023. We experienced growth in total operating revenues for both our general purpose credit card and our private label credit receivables for the year ended December 31, 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023. These increases were primarily due to consistent quarterly growth in both new credit card customers serviced and seasonally driven growth with private label credit receivables and corresponding merchant fees. Growth also reflected increased fee and finance pricing requirements for all new receivable acquisitions in response to increased costs of capital used to finance these receivable acquisitions. Additionally, growth within our private label credit receivables for the second and third quarters of 2024 was largely due to continued growth associated with our largest existing retail partners, growth which typically increases late in the second quarter and into the third quarter of each year based on our retail partners' seasonal sale cycles. This seasonal growth in private label credit receivables was at its highest in the third quarter of 2024 when we increased receivable purchases by $152.3 million when compared to the third quarter of 2023.
The relative mix of receivable acquisitions can lead to some variation in our corresponding revenue as general purpose credit card receivables typically generate higher gross yields than private label credit receivables do. We are currently experiencing continued period-over-period growth in private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables—growth that we expect to result in net period-over-period growth in our total interest income and related fees for these operations throughout 2025. During 2024 we experienced higher growth rates for our private label credit receivables than for our general purpose credit card receivables. As discussed above, these private label receivables typically generate lower gross yields than our general purpose credit card receivables. This growth in private label credit receivables, relative to growth in general purpose credit card receivables offset some of the increased fee and finance pricing requirements discussed above.
Future periods’ growth is dependent on the addition of new retail partners to expand the reach of private label credit operations as well as growth within existing partnerships and the level of marketing investment for the general purpose credit card operations. Other revenue on our consolidated statements of income consists of servicing income, service charges and other customer related fees. Growth in customer related fees was largely due to the use of new marketing channels which increased customer engagement with these products. When coupled with increases in interchange revenues which are largely impacted by growth in our receivables, this resulted in an increase in this category of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023. See Note 2, "Significant Accounting Policies and Consolidated Financial Statement Components" to our consolidated financial statements for additional information related to this revenue from contracts with customers. Interchange fees are earned when customers we serve use their cards over established card networks. We earn a portion of the interchange fee the card networks charge merchants for the transaction. We earn servicing income by servicing loan portfolios for third parties. Unless and/or until we grow the number of contractual servicing relationships we have with third parties or our current relationships grow their loan portfolios, we will not experience significant growth and income within this category. The above discussions on expectations for finance, fee and other income are based on our current expectations. Recent rules enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), which, if implemented, would further limit the late fees charged to consumers in most instances, are expected to adversely impact the revenue recognized on our receivables. In order to mitigate these impacts and continue to serve consumers, we have worked collaboratively with our bank partners to assist them in taking a number of steps, from modifying products and policies (such as further tightening the criteria used to evaluate new loans) to changing prices (including increasing interest rates and fees charged to consumers). While our bank partners have the flexibility to unilaterally make changes to program offerings and must approve all changes to existing or new program offerings, we are only obligated to acquire receivables originated by our bank partners when they utilize mutually agreed upon underwriting standards. We believe these product, policy, and pricing changes will offset the negative impact of potential reduced late fees. The changes will take several quarters to fully implement.
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For more information, refer to Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors" and, in particular, "The CFPB recently issued a final rule regarding credit card late fees, which represents a significant departure from the rules that are currently in effect. The rules are currently enjoined from implementation. If implemented in the future, we expect the rule would have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition for at least the short term and, depending on the effectiveness of our actions taken in response to the rule, potentially over the long term."
Other non-operating income. Included within our Other non-operating income category is income (or loss) associated with investments in non-core businesses or other items not directly associated with our ongoing operations. None of these companies are publicly-traded and there are no material pending liquidity events. We will continue to carry the investments on our books at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes.
Interest expense. Variations in interest expense are due to new borrowings and increased costs of capital associated with growth in private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables and CAR operations as evidenced within Note 10, "Notes Payable," to our consolidated financial statements, offset by our debt facilities being repaid commensurate with net liquidations of the underlying credit card, auto finance and installment loan receivables that serve as collateral for the facilities. Outstanding notes payable, net of unamortized debt issuance costs and discounts, associated with our private label credit and general purpose credit card platform increased to $2,157.8 million as of December 31, 2024, from $1,796.0 million as of December 31, 2023. Interest expense increased $50.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, when compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The majority of this increase in outstanding debt relates to the addition of multiple credit facilities in 2023 and 2024 associated with growth in our card and loan receivables, coupled with issuances of 9.25% Senior Notes due 2029 (the "2029 Senior Notes"). In the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, we sold approximately $142.2 million aggregate principal amount of 2029 Senior Notes. Recent increases in the effective interest rates on debt have increased our interest expense as we have raised additional capital (or replaced existing facilities) over the last two years. We anticipate additional debt financing over the next few quarters as we continue to grow coupled with higher effective interest rates on new debt compared to rates on maturing debt. As such, we expect our quarterly interest expense for these operations to increase compared to prior periods.
Provision for credit losses. Our provision for credit losses covers, with respect to such receivables, changes in estimates regarding our aggregate loss exposures on (1) principal receivable balances, (2) finance charges and late fees receivable underlying income amounts included within our total interest income category, and (3) other fees and notes receivable. Recoveries of charged off receivables, consist of amounts received from the efforts of third-party collectors and through the sale of charged-off accounts to unrelated third parties. All proceeds received associated with charged-off accounts, are credited to the allowance for credit losses.
We have experienced a period-over-period increase of $14.2 million in our provision for credit losses (when comparing the year ended December 31, 2024 to the same period in 2023) primarily associated with increases in loss estimates associated with our Auto Finance segment's floorplan loans. Most risk of loss in our Auto Finance segment is widely diversified with consumer auto loans across the U.S. Floorplan loans offered to dealers to finance auto inventory increase our exposure to loss not only for the amount of a floorplan loan but also for specific dealer related consumer loans. We take several steps to mitigate this risk including holding title to the underlying collateral, ongoing reassessments of collateral value and regular audits at participating dealer locations. Nevertheless, the timing of losses is difficult to predict. Recent stress noted at some dealer locations is incorporated into our loss estimates for floorplan and consumer loans and resulted in increased provisions for credit losses for the year ended December 31, 2024. Additionally, we recorded a provision for credit losses associated with our notes receivable from consumer technology platforms. These include notes receivable from companies engaged in mobile technologies, marketplace lending and other financial technologies. None of these companies are publicly-traded and the carrying value of our investment in these companies is not material. See Note 2, "Significant Accounting Policies and Consolidated Financial Statement Components," to our consolidated financial statements for further credit quality statistics and analysis.
Changes in fair value of loans.
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For all periods presented, we included asset performance degradation in our forecasts to reflect both changes in assumed asset level economics and the possibility of delinquency rates increasing in the near term (and the corresponding increase in charge-offs and decrease in payments) above the level that current trends would suggest. In recent periods we have removed some of this expected degradation based on observed asset stabilization, implementation of mitigants to a potential change in late fee billings and general improvements in U.S. economic expectations due to the improved inflation environment. See Note 6 "Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities" to our consolidated financial statements included herein for further discussion of this calculation. We may, however, adjust our forecasts to reflect observed macroeconomic events. Thus, the fair values are subject to potentially high levels of volatility if we experience changes in the quality of our credit card receivables or if there are significant changes in market valuation factors (e.g., interest rates and spreads) in the future. Tightened underwriting standards shifted new receivable acquisitions to consumers at the higher end of the FICO bands in which our bank partners participate, presumably resulting in improved overall credit performance of our acquired receivables. When coupled with those existing assets negatively impacted by inflation gradually becoming a smaller percentage of the outstanding portfolio, we expect to see overall improvements in the measured fair value of our portfolios of acquired receivables. As part of our analysis to determine the fair value of our receivables, we look at several key factors that influence the overall fair value. Qualitative discussion of these factors is as follows:
Gross yield, net of finance charge charge-offs – We utilize gross yield, net of finance charge charge-offs in our fair value assessments to best reflect the expected net collected yield on fee billings on our receivables. As the size and composition of our portfolio fluctuates, or as we experience periods of growth or decline in our acquisition of new receivables, this rate can fluctuate. We have experienced marginal declines in our weighted-average, Gross yield, net of finance charge charge-offs rate used in our fair value calculations as of December 31, 2024, when compared to rates used as of December 31, 2023 largely due to a shift in the overall portfolio mix towards private label credit receivables acquired that tend to have lower effective yields but also for which we have limited loss exposure due to agreements with retail partners. Our general purpose credit card receivables experienced an increase in this same rate for the noted periods due to the aforementioned product, policy, and pricing changes. As these product policy and pricing changes continue to further impact both newly acquired and existing private label credit receivables and general purpose credit card receivables, we expect our gross yield, net of finance charge charge-offs rate to increase over time although the pace and timing of purchases for new general purpose credit card receivables, relative to those of private label credit receivables, could result in near term declines in this rate. The acquisition of private label credit receivables, particularly those noted above, is largely seasonal in nature, peaking in the second and third quarters of each year. As a result, we would expect this weighted average rate to decrease in those periods absent the offset of our higher yielding general purpose credit card receivables acquired during the same period. While our bank partners have enacted product, policy, and pricing changes on our existing receivables (and all newly acquired receivables), these changes will take several quarters to be fully realized.
Payment Rate – Our total portfolio payment rate has declined marginally over time largely due to the increased relative weight of acquisitions of private label credit receivables to our overall pool of receivables. These receivables tend to include less finance and fee billings that factor into monthly payment amounts (due to associated merchant fee billings that provide us adequate returns on the receivables) and have payment terms that extend over longer periods. As a result, payment rates on private label credit receivables are naturally lower than those associated with our general purpose credit card receivables. This was particularly influenced by strong growth in the aforementioned private label credit receivables acquired during the second and third quarters of 2024 that have limited loss exposure and tend to have longer associated terms and lower effective payment rates. This decline in payment rates is not evident in our credit card portfolio, which maintained relatively stable payment rates for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Servicing Rate – Our servicing rate has fluctuated marginally over time as we continue to implement processes and strategies to more efficiently and effectively service the accounts underlying our outstanding receivables portfolios. As delinquent accounts tend to have a higher cost of servicing, recent trending declines in our receivables that are 90 or more days past due also has resulted in lower expected future costs. We expect our servicing rate will remain relatively consistent over the next several quarters.
Expected Net Principal Credit Loss Rate – Our Expected net principal credit loss rate is chiefly impacted by the relative makeup of receivables within our pools. As we have acquired a higher number of receivables associated with our private label credit accounts for which we have limited loss exposure due to agreements with retail partners, particularly in the second and third quarters of 2024, our Expected net principal credit loss rate has decreased. Additionally, we have noted reductions in the Expected net principal credit loss rate associated with our general purpose credit card receivables, which have shown continued overall improvements in delinquency rates. With growth in the acquisition of our private label credit receivables, particularly those noted above with limited loss exposure, and growth in better performing general purpose credit card receivables, we expect this weighted average rate to decrease over the next several quarters (when compared to similar periods in prior years) before stabilizing.
Discount Rate – Our weighted average discount rate has remained relatively consistent over the past several quarters (and is expected to continue to remain consistent or go down). Primarily impacting modest changes in our weighted average discount rate are mix shifts in the type of receivables acquired, as different receivable types (general purpose credit card receivables versus private label credit receivables) have different expected return requirements used by third-party market participants. As we have acquired a higher number of receivables associated with our private label credit accounts for which we have limited loss exposure due to agreements with retail partners that reimburse us for credit losses, our weighted average discount rate has decreased marginally. We have assigned a lower discount rate when assessing the fair value of these receivables to reflect the significantly lower risk and return characteristics. As a result, our weighted average discount rate has decreased marginally. We consider asset specific financing costs associated with our receivables (coupled with our internal cost of equity capital in agreements that require credit enhancements) as the best indicator of return requirements used by third-party market participants. If the Federal Reserve continues to decrease interest rates or we observe a corresponding decrease in return requirements used by third-party market participants, we may further reduce our weighted average discount rate.
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Total operating expenses. Total operating expenses variances for the year ended December 31, 2024, relative to the year ended December 31, 2023, reflect the following:
| • | increases in salaries and benefit costs related to both the growth in the number of employees and inflationary compensation pressure. We expect some continued increase in this cost in 2025 compared to 2024 as we expect to continue to invest in technology, risk underwriting and compliance and as a result we expect to increase our number of employees; | |
|---|---|---|
| • | increases in card and loan servicing expenses due to growth in receivables associated with our investments in private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables, which grew to $2,724.8 million outstanding from $2,411.3 million outstanding at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, and costs associated with the implementation of product, policy, and pricing changes discussed above. As many of the expenses associated with our card and loan servicing efforts are now variable based on the amount of underlying receivables, we would expect this number to continue to grow in 2025 commensurate with growth in our receivables. Offsetting a portion of this increase are significant reductions in our servicing costs per account, resulting from the realization of greater economies of scale and increased use of automation as our receivables have grown. | |
| • | modest increases in marketing and solicitation costs for the year ended December 31, 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023, as growth in new accounts serviced during 2024 was in line with growth observed throughout 2023. These modest increases in marketing and solicitation costs are a direct result of the increased costs associated with assisting our bank partners to acquire new consumers using tightened underwriting standards resulting from CFPB plans to restrict late fee assessments. As we continue to adjust our underwriting standards to reflect changes in fee and finance assumptions on new receivables, and allow for overall increases in the cost to successfully market to consumers, we expect period over period marketing costs for 2025 to increase relative to those experienced in 2024, although the frequency and timing of increased marketing efforts could vary and are dependent on macroeconomic factors such as national unemployment rates and federal funds rates; and | |
| • | other expenses primarily relate to costs associated with occupancy or other third party expenses that are largely fixed in nature. Some costs including occupancy, legal and travel expenses can be variable based on growth and have grown as we expand our marketing and growth efforts. Increases in this category for the year ended December 31, 2024, when compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily relate to certain nonrecurring costs associated with accounting and legal expenditures. While we expect some increase in these costs as we continue to grow our receivable portfolios, we do not anticipate the increase to be meaningful. |
Certain operating costs are variable based on the levels of accounts and receivables we service (both for our own receivables and for others) and the pace and breadth of our growth in receivables. However, a number of our operating costs are fixed. As we have significantly grown our managed receivables levels over the past two years with minimal increase in the fixed portion of our card and loan servicing expenses as well as our salaries and benefits costs, we have realized greater operating efficiency.
Notwithstanding our cost management activities, we expect increased levels of expenditures associated with anticipated growth in private label credit and general purpose credit card operations. These expenses will primarily relate to the variable costs of marketing efforts and card and loan servicing expenses associated with new receivable acquisitions. Unknown ongoing potential impacts related to the aforementioned inflation and other global disruptions could result in more variability in these expenses and could impair our ability to acquire new receivables, resulting in increased costs despite our efforts to manage costs effectively.
Noncontrolling interests. We reflect the ownership interests of noncontrolling holders of equity in our majority-owned subsidiaries as noncontrolling interests in our consolidated statements of income. In November 2019, a wholly-owned subsidiary issued 50.5 million Class B preferred units at a purchase price of $1.00 per unit to an unrelated third party. The units carry a 16% preferred return paid quarterly, with up to 6 percentage points of the preferred return to be paid through the issuance of additional units or cash, at our election. The units have both call and put rights and are also subject to various covenants including a minimum book value, which if not satisfied, could allow for the securities to be put back to the subsidiary. In March 2020, the subsidiary issued an additional 50.0 million Class B preferred units under the same terms. A holder of the Class B preferred units may, at its election and with notice, require the Company to redeem part or all of such holder’s Class B preferred units for cash at $1.00 per unit, on or after October 14, 2024. The Company has the right to redeem the Class B preferred units at any time with notice. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we redeemed 50.5 million of the Class B preferred units at $1.00 per unit plus accrued but unpaid interest thereon. In March 2025, we redeemed the remaining 50.0 million of Class B preferred units at $1.00 per unit plus accrued but unpaid interest thereon. We include the Class B preferred units as temporary noncontrolling interests on the consolidated balance sheets and the associated dividends are included as a reduction of our net income attributable to common shareholders on the consolidated statements of income.
Income Taxes. We experienced an effective income tax expense rate of 20.4% and 20.6% for the years ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively. Our effective income tax expense rate for the year ended December 31, 2024, is below the statutory rate principally due to (1) our deduction for income tax purposes of amounts characterized in our consolidated financial statements as dividends on a preferred stock issuance, such amounts constituting deductible interest expense on a debt issuance for tax purposes and (2) a loss related to our unrecovered investment in a foreign subsidiary which ceased operations during the year and with respect to which we had used “permanently reinvested earnings” accounting in our consolidated financial statements. Our effective income tax expense rate for the year ended December 31, 2023, is below the statutory rate principally due to our deduction for income tax purposes of amounts characterized in our consolidated financial statements as dividends on a preferred stock issuance, such amounts constituting deductible interest expense on a debt issuance for tax purposes. In both years, our effective income tax expense rate would have been even lower relative to the statutory rate but not for (1) state and foreign income tax expense, (2) taxes on global intangible low-taxed income, and (3) deduction disallowance under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, with respect to compensation paid to our covered employees—such deduction disallowance which fully offset the tax benefit of deductions associated with the exercise of stock options and the vesting of restricted stock at times when the fair value of our stock exceeded such share-based awards’ grant date values. Further details related to the above are reflected in Note 12, "Income Taxes".
We report income tax-related interest and penalties (including those associated with both our accrued liabilities for uncertain tax positions and unpaid tax liabilities) within our income tax line item on our consolidated statements of income. We likewise report the reversal of income tax-related interest and penalties within such line item to the extent we resolve our liabilities for uncertain tax positions or unpaid tax liabilities in a manner favorable to our accruals therefor. We recognized $0.6 million and $0.4 million in potential interest associated with uncertain tax positions during the years ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, we present managed receivables, total managed yield, total managed yield ratio, combined principal net charge-off ratio, percent of managed receivables 30-59 days past due, percent of managed receivables 60-89 days past due and percent of managed receivables 90 or more days past due, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures aid in the evaluation of the performance of our credit portfolios, including our risk management, servicing and collection activities and our valuation of purchased receivables. The credit performance of our managed receivables provides information concerning the quality of loan originations and the related credit risks inherent with the portfolios. Management relies heavily upon financial data and results prepared on the "managed basis" in order to manage our business, make planning decisions, evaluate our performance and allocate resources.
These non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures or the calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures are provided below for each of the fiscal periods indicated.
These non-GAAP financial measures include only the performance of those receivables underlying consolidated subsidiaries (for receivables carried at amortized cost basis and fair value). Additionally, we calculate average managed receivables based on the quarter-end balances.
The comparison of non-GAAP managed receivables to our GAAP financial statements requires an understanding that managed receivables reflect the face value of loans, interest and fees receivable without any adjustment for potential credit losses to reflect fair value.
CaaS Segment
Our CaaS segment includes our activities related to our servicing of and our investments in the private label credit and general purpose credit card operations, our various credit card receivables portfolios, as well as other product testing and investments that generally utilize much of the same infrastructure. The types of revenues we earn from our investments in receivables portfolios and services primarily include fees and finance charges, merchant fees or annual fees associated with the private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables.
We record (i) the finance charges, merchant fees and late fees assessed on our CaaS segment receivables in the Revenue - Consumer loans, including past due fees category on our consolidated statements of income, (ii) the annual, monthly maintenance, returned-check, cash advance and other fees in the Revenue - Fees and related income on earning assets category on our consolidated statements of income, and (iii) the charge-offs (and recoveries thereof) as a component within our Changes in fair value of loans on our consolidated statements of income. Additionally, we show the effects of fair value changes for those credit card receivables for which we have elected the fair value option as a component of Changes in fair value of loans in our consolidated statements of income.
We historically have invested in receivables portfolios through subsidiary entities. If we control through direct ownership or exert a controlling interest in the entity, we consolidate it and reflect its operations as noted above.
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Below are (i) the reconciliation of Loans at fair value to Loans at amortized cost and (ii) the calculation of managed receivables:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loans at fair value | $ | 2,630.3 | $ | 2,511.6 | $ | 2,277.4 | $ | 2,150.6 | $ | 2,173.8 | $ | 2,050.0 | $ | 1,916.1 | $ | 1,795.6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Fair value mark against receivable (1) | 94.5 | 142.5 | 137.7 | 167.5 | 237.5 | 265.2 | 257.9 | 260.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed receivables (2) | $ | 2,724.8 | $ | 2,654.1 | $ | 2,415.1 | $ | 2,318.1 | $ | 2,411.3 | $ | 2,315.2 | $ | 2,174.0 | $ | 2,055.7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Fair value to Total managed receivables ratio (3) | 96.5 | % | 94.6 | % | 94.3 | % | 92.8 | % | 90.2 | % | 88.5 | % | 88.1 | % | 87.3 | % |
(1) The fair value mark against receivables reflects the difference between the face value of a receivable and the net present value of the expected cash flows associated with that receivable. See Note 6, "Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities" to our consolidated financial statements included herein for further discussion of assumptions underlying this calculation.
(2) Total managed receivables are equal to the Aggregate unpaid gross balance of loans carried at fair value. See Note 6, "Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities" to our consolidated financial statements included herein for further discussion of the Aggregate unpaid gross balance of loans carried at fair value.
(3) The Fair value to Total managed receivables ratio is calculated using Loans at fair value as the numerator, and Total managed receivables as the denominator.
As discussed above, our managed receivables data differ in certain aspects from our GAAP data. First, managed receivables data include the undiscounted contractual amounts due on the underlying consumer receivable plus fee billings (including fees and finance charges), less actual charge-offs.
A reconciliation of our operating revenues and other income, net of finance and fee charge-offs, to comparable amounts used in our calculation of Total managed yield ratios is as follows:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consumer loans, including past due fees | $ | 242.1 | $ | 245.3 | $ | 232.1 | $ | 220.0 | $ | 214.6 | $ | 214.6 | $ | 210.3 | $ | 200.5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Fees and related income on earning assets | 83.8 | 78.5 | 59.5 | 47.9 | 71.7 | 59.8 | 62.9 | 44.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other revenue | 17.5 | 16.8 | 13.6 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 10.2 | 7.6 | 6.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue and other income - CaaS Segment | 343.4 | 340.6 | 305.2 | 279.6 | 298.3 | 284.6 | 280.8 | 251.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjustments due to acceleration of merchant fee discount amortization under fair value accounting | 0.7 | (15.1 | ) | (12.6 | ) | 4.0 | 6.5 | (6.8 | ) | (10.6 | ) | (0.5 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Adjustments due to acceleration of annual fees recognition under fair value accounting | (10.5 | ) | (8.0 | ) | 1.1 | 10.1 | (12.6 | ) | (3.1 | ) | (9.8 | ) | 7.3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Removal of finance charge-offs | (64.9 | ) | (60.6 | ) | (62.9 | ) | (63.7 | ) | (59.5 | ) | (47.1 | ) | (54.2 | ) | (61.7 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield | $ | 268.7 | $ | 256.9 | $ | 230.8 | $ | 230.0 | $ | 232.7 | $ | 227.6 | $ | 206.2 | $ | 196.6 |
The calculation of Combined principal net charge-offs used in our Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized is as follows:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in Millions) | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charge-offs on loans at fair value | $ | 213.1 | $ | 201.5 | $ | 217.0 | $ | 231.7 | $ | 215.2 | $ | 173.5 | $ | 180.0 | $ | 191.9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Finance charge-offs (1) | (64.9 | ) | (60.6 | ) | (62.9 | ) | (63.7 | ) | (59.5 | ) | (47.1 | ) | (54.2 | ) | (61.7 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-offs | $ | 148.2 | $ | 140.9 | $ | 154.1 | $ | 168.0 | $ | 155.7 | $ | 126.4 | $ | 125.8 | $ | 130.2 |
(1) Finance charge-offs are included as a component of our Changes in fair value of loans in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.
Our delinquency and charge-off data at any point in time reflect the credit performance of our managed receivables. The average age of the accounts underlying our receivables, the timing and size of receivable purchases, the success of our collection and recovery efforts and general economic conditions all affect our delinquency and charge-off rates. The average age of the accounts underlying our portfolios of receivables also affects the stability of our delinquency and loss rates. Our strategy for managing delinquency and receivables losses consists of account management throughout the life of the receivable. This strategy includes credit line management and pricing based on the risks. See also our discussion of collection strategy under "Collection Strategy" in Item 1, "Business".
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The following table presents the delinquency trends of the receivables we manage within our CaaS segment, as well as charge-off data and other non-GAAP managed receivables statistics (in thousands; percentages of total):
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 2,724,782 | $ | 2,654,112 | $ | 2,415,092 | $ | 2,318,104 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 104,022 | 3.8 | % | $ | 106,303 | 4.0 | % | $ | 99,620 | 4.1 | % | $ | 94,389 | 4.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 97,953 | 3.6 | % | $ | 96,673 | 3.6 | % | $ | 88,544 | 3.7 | % | $ | 87,761 | 3.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 253,511 | 9.3 | % | $ | 227,418 | 8.6 | % | $ | 218,215 | 9.0 | % | $ | 243,830 | 10.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average managed receivables | $ | 2,689,447 | $ | 2,534,602 | $ | 2,366,598 | $ | 2,364,680 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield ratio, annualized (1) | 40.0 | % | 40.5 | % | 39.0 | % | 38.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized (2) | 22.0 | % | 22.2 | % | 26.0 | % | 28.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense ratio, annualized (3) | 6.5 | % | 6.6 | % | 6.3 | % | 5.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net interest margin ratio, annualized (4) | 11.5 | % | 11.7 | % | 6.7 | % | 4.7 | % |
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 2,411,255 | $ | 2,315,206 | $ | 2,174,001 | $ | 2,055,678 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 110,465 | 4.6 | % | $ | 101,822 | 4.4 | % | $ | 96,670 | 4.4 | % | $ | 76,139 | 3.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 98,377 | 4.1 | % | $ | 92,361 | 4.0 | % | $ | 81,477 | 3.7 | % | $ | 88,529 | 4.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 247,621 | 10.3 | % | $ | 217,136 | 9.4 | % | $ | 170,274 | 7.8 | % | $ | 197,418 | 9.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average managed receivables | $ | 2,363,231 | $ | 2,244,604 | $ | 2,114,840 | $ | 2,087,902 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield ratio, annualized (1) | 39.4 | % | 40.6 | % | 39.0 | % | 37.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized (2) | 26.4 | % | 22.5 | % | 23.8 | % | 24.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense ratio, annualized (3) | 5.4 | % | 4.9 | % | 4.4 | % | 4.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net interest margin ratio, annualized (4) | 7.6 | % | 13.2 | % | 10.8 | % | 8.3 | % |
(1) The Total managed yield ratio, annualized is calculated using the annualized total managed yield as the numerator and period-end average managed receivables as the denominator.
(2) The Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized is calculated using the annualized combined principal net charge-offs as the numerator and period-end average managed receivables as the denominator.
(3) Interest expense ratio, annualized is calculated using the annualized interest expense associated with the CaaS segment (See Note 3, "Segment Reporting" to our consolidated financial statements) as the numerator and period-end average managed receivables as the denominator.
(4) Net interest margin ratio, annualized is calculated using the Total managed yield ratio, annualized less the Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized less the Interest expense ratio, annualized.
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The following table presents additional trends and data with respect to our private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables (dollars in thousands). Results of our legacy credit card receivables portfolios are excluded:
| Private Label Credit - At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 1,231,750 | $ | 1,205,714 | $ | 1,013,529 | $ | 907,367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 33,664 | 2.7 | % | $ | 34,658 | 2.9 | % | $ | 36,477 | 3.6 | % | $ | 32,209 | 3.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 29,297 | 2.4 | % | $ | 30,216 | 2.5 | % | $ | 29,766 | 2.9 | % | $ | 27,094 | 3.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 75,294 | 6.1 | % | $ | 70,190 | 5.8 | % | $ | 67,368 | 6.6 | % | $ | 74,414 | 8.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average APR | 12.9 | % | 13.3 | % | 15.8 | % | 17.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables purchased during period | $ | 241,442 | $ | 396,900 | $ | 316,304 | $ | 191,106 |
| Private Label Credit - At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 939,389 | $ | 944,197 | $ | 892,387 | $ | 835,541 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 36,540 | 3.9 | % | $ | 35,830 | 3.8 | % | $ | 31,597 | 3.5 | % | $ | 25,774 | 3.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 31,284 | 3.3 | % | $ | 29,387 | 3.1 | % | $ | 24,776 | 2.8 | % | $ | 21,036 | 2.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 79,056 | 8.4 | % | $ | 71,200 | 7.5 | % | $ | 56,209 | 6.3 | % | $ | 62,609 | 7.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average APR | 17.1 | % | 16.2 | % | 17.0 | % | 17.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables purchased during period | $ | 202,168 | $ | 244,571 | $ | 260,281 | $ | 201,375 |
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| General Purpose Credit Card - At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 1,493,032 | $ | 1,448,060 | $ | 1,401,168 | $ | 1,410,281 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 70,358 | 4.7 | % | $ | 71,645 | 4.9 | % | $ | 63,141 | 4.5 | % | $ | 62,173 | 4.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 68,656 | 4.6 | % | $ | 66,454 | 4.6 | % | $ | 58,777 | 4.2 | % | $ | 60,664 | 4.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 178,216 | 11.9 | % | $ | 157,222 | 10.9 | % | $ | 150,839 | 10.8 | % | $ | 169,402 | 12.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average APR | 28.6 | % | 28.9 | % | 27.4 | % | 27.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables purchased during period | $ | 370,269 | $ | 373,231 | $ | 360,425 | $ | 342,834 |
| General Purpose Credit Card - At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | Managed Receivables | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables | $ | 1,471,358 | $ | 1,370,445 | $ | 1,280,979 | $ | 1,219,429 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 73,918 | 5.0 | % | $ | 65,987 | 4.8 | % | $ | 65,067 | 5.1 | % | $ | 50,355 | 4.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 67,088 | 4.6 | % | $ | 62,969 | 4.6 | % | $ | 56,698 | 4.4 | % | $ | 67,486 | 5.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 168,555 | 11.5 | % | $ | 145,927 | 10.6 | % | $ | 114,046 | 8.9 | % | $ | 134,799 | 11.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average APR | 27.4 | % | 27.3 | % | 27.2 | % | 26.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables purchased during period | $ | 426,939 | $ | 402,978 | $ | 380,509 | $ | 315,148 |
The following discussion relates to the tables above.
Managed receivables levels. We continue to experience overall period-over-period quarterly receivables growth with over $314.1 million in net receivables growth associated with the private label credit and general purpose credit card products offered by our bank partners from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024. The addition of large private label credit retail partners and ongoing purchases of receivables arising in accounts issued by our bank partners to customers of our existing retail partners helped grow our private label credit receivables by $292.4 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. Our general purpose credit card receivables grew by $21.7 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. While some of our merchant partners continue to face year-over-year growth challenges, others are benefiting from continued consumer spending and a growing economy and have expanded their relationship with us. Our general purpose credit card portfolio continues to experience modest growth in total managed receivables. Growth in 2024 was somewhat restricted due to our initial response to rule changes enacted by the CFPB. In order to mitigate these impacts and continue to serve consumers, our bank partners have taken a number of steps, from modifying products and policies (such as further tightening the criteria used to evaluate new loans) to changing prices (including increasing interest rates and fees charged to consumers). We believe these product, policy, and pricing changes will offset the negative impact of potential reduced late fees. The changes will take several quarters to fully implement and some changes (for private label credit receivables) will only be implemented upon an effective date for the potential CFPB rules. In the short term, these changes could impact new receivable acquisitions. Growth in future periods for our private label credit receivables largely is dependent on the addition of new retail partners to the private label credit origination platform, the timing and size of solicitations within the general purpose credit card platform by our bank partners, as well as purchase activity of consumers. Similarly, the loss of existing retail partner relationships could adversely affect new loan acquisition levels. Our top five retail partnerships accounted for over 75% of our private label receivables outstanding as of December 31, 2024. The volume of receivables purchased each period varies based on a number of factors, including seasonal consumer purchase patterns and growth (or contraction) within merchant retail locations. Further impacting receivable purchase amounts in a period are consumer application volumes that retail partners may direct to our bank partners versus competitors who offer similar financing products to those retail merchant partners. See Note 11, "Commitments and Contingencies," to our consolidated financial statements included herein for further discussion of these concentrations.
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Delinquencies and charge-offs. Delinquent loans reflect the principal, fee and interest components of loans we did not collect on or prior to the contractual due date and are considered "past due". Delinquencies have the potential to impact net income in the form of net credit losses. Delinquencies also are costly in terms of the personnel and resources dedicated to resolving them. We intend for the receivables management strategies we use on our portfolios to manage and, to the extent possible, reduce the higher delinquency rates that can be expected with the younger average age of the newer receivables in our managed portfolio. These management strategies include conservative credit line management and collection strategies intended to optimize the effective account-to-collector ratio across delinquency categories. We measure the success of these efforts by reviewing delinquency rates. These rates exclude receivables that have been charged off.
During 2023, we experienced increased delinquency rates in conjunction with slower receivables growth, higher energy costs and rising inflation and the resulting negative impact on consumers. These increases abated in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 as certain of these costs decreased and consumers adjusted to new price points for these consumer staples while simultaneously enjoying a strong employment environment. Increases in the first and second quarters of 2024 in our Private label credit receivables were largely due to a mix shift in receivables acquired to certain receivables that have higher observed delinquencies but correspondingly higher yields. Late in the second quarter of 2024 and early in the third quarter of 2024, we additionally acquired receivables that have higher observed delinquencies, but for which we have limited loss exposure due to agreements with retail partners. As a result of these limited loss exposures, these receivables are not included in our delinquency rates for private label credit receivables and served to decrease our delinquency rates for the third and fourth quarters of 2024. Our delinquency rates for our general purpose credit cards receivables were higher in the first quarter of 2024 due to both a reduction in the growth of our managed receivables and accounts that were enrolled in short-term payment deferrals, due to hardship claims resulting from COVID-19. Receivables enrolled in these short-term payment deferrals continued to accrue interest and their delinquency status did not change through their respective deferment periods. The remainder of these accounts were removed from hardship status with the end of the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies in May 2023. While these accounts resulted in higher than normal reported delinquency rates for the first quarter of 2024 (and correspondingly higher charge-offs in the first and second quarters of 2024), the charge offs did not result in a further economic impact to us as the majority of these accounts were already considered in our changes in fair value in prior periods. As these accounts were largely charged off by the end of the first quarter of 2024, we saw some modest improvement in our second quarter 2024 delinquencies offset by slower net receivables growth during this period. Delinquency rates in the third and fourth quarter of 2024 remained largely consistent with those noted in the same period of prior year.
As we continue to acquire newer private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables, we expect our delinquency rates to marginally increase when compared to the same periods in prior years due to a planned shift in our general purpose and private label credit receivables originated as our bank partners expand product offerings to a broader range of consumers. This expected increase in delinquencies will be offset somewhat by using more restrictive product, policy, and pricing changes which we believe will result in a more profitable asset overall. We also expect continued seasonal payment patterns on these receivables that impact our delinquencies in line with prior periods. For example, delinquency rates historically are lower in the second quarter of each year due to the benefits of seasonally strong payment patterns associated with tax refunds for many consumers. Included in this expected decrease in delinquencies is continued growth in the portfolio which will also mute delinquency metrics. Our beliefs for future delinquency rates are predicated on the assumption that the slowing rate of inflation will continue and our recent tightened underwriting standards will prove effective at reducing account delinquencies.
Total managed yield ratio, annualized. As discussed above, growth in higher yielding assets has resulted in higher charge-off and delinquency rates in some periods. General purpose credit card receivables tend to have higher total yields than private label credit receivables (and corresponding higher charge off rates). As a result, in periods where we have declines in rates of growth of these general purpose credit card receivables, as was noted in 2024 (relative to growth in private label credit receivables), we expect to have slightly lower total managed yield ratios. We currently expect increases in the acquisition of receivables and correspondingly higher period-over-period operating revenue and other income for 2025 although the timing of these acquisitions could result in some fluctuations of our Total managed yield ratio, annualized when comparing quarterly rates in 2025 to corresponding quarterly periods in 2024. This growth also includes an expected seasonal shift in our mix of acquired private label receivables to higher FICO receivables that have lower gross yields (and correspondingly lower charge-off expectations) in the third quarter of each year, which may result in marginally lower managed yield ratios when compared to the corresponding periods in prior years.
Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized. We charge off our CaaS segment receivables when they become contractually more than 180 days past due or 120 days past due if they are enrolled in an installment loan product. For all of our products, we charge off receivables within 30 days of notification and confirmation of a customer’s bankruptcy or death. However, in some cases of death, we do not charge off receivables if there is a surviving, contractually liable individual or an estate large enough to pay the debt in full. When the principal of an outstanding loan is charged off, the related finance charges and fees are simultaneously charged off, resulting in a reduction to our Total managed yield.
Growth within our general purpose credit card receivables (as a percent of outstanding receivables) has resulted in increases in our charge-offs over time. The increase in the combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized throughout 2023 and the first two quarters of 2024 is a reflection of increased delinquencies noted as consumer behavior reverted to historical norms (similar to those experienced in periods prior to COVID-19) and decreases in the acquisition of new general purpose credit card receivables. Additionally, inflation, particularly as it relates to higher gas prices, negatively impacted some consumers' ability to make payments on outstanding loans and fees receivable. We noted improvements in this rate during the third and fourth quarters due to both improvements in consumer payment behavior and strong growth in our receivables base.
Despite expected marginal increases in delinquency rates as discussed above, we expect our overall combined principal net charge-off ratios to continue to decrease for 2025, when compared to the comparable prior period. These charge-off rates are expected to return to historically normalized levels, adjusted for the mix shift discussed above, and will benefit from planned growth in the underlying receivables which we expect will further reduce our combined principal net charge-off ratio. Our charge-off ratio has also been impacted due to (and will continue to be impacted by): 1) higher expected charge-off rates on the private label credit and general purpose credit card receivables corresponding with higher yields on these receivables, (2) continued testing of receivables with higher risk profiles, leading to periodic increases in combined principal net charge offs, (3) the aforementioned tightened underwriting standards that will slow the pace of growth in our receivables base, and (4) negative impacts on some consumers' ability to make payments on outstanding loans and fees receivable as a result of inflation pressures. While charge-offs associated with previously mentioned accounts enrolled in short-term payment deferrals had a negative impact on our Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized through the second quarter of 2024, they did not have a material impact on our consolidated statements of income as the majority of these accounts were already considered in our changes in fair value. Further impacting our charge-off rates are the timing and size of solicitations that serve to minimize charge-off rates in periods of high receivable acquisitions but also exacerbate charge-off rates in periods of lower receivable acquisitions.
Interest expense ratio, annualized. Our interest expense ratio, annualized reflects interest costs associated with our CaaS segment. This includes both direct receivables funding costs as well as general unsecured lending. Recent impacts to this ratio primarily relate to the timing and size of outstanding debt as well as the addition of new funding facilities. Historically, we obtained lower cost financing with fixed interest rates, resulting in lower interest expense ratios. Increases in the federal funds borrowing rate in 2022 and 2023 have led to an increase in spreads for newly-originated debt and for that portion of debt which does not have fixed rates. As such, we have seen our Interest expense ratio, annualized increase throughout 2023 and 2024 and we expect the Interest expense ratio to increase when compared to prior quarters into 2025 as we replace existing financing arrangements with new ones at a higher cost of capital.
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Net interest margin ratio, annualized. Our Net interest margin ratio, annualized represents the difference between our Total managed yield ratio, annualized, our Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized and our Interest expense ratio, annualized. Recent declines in this ratio, when compared to corresponding prior periods, relate primarily to recent increases in our principal net charge-offs as noted above. Given the above noted expectations for marginal improvements in our Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized, we expect this ratio to start to improve relative to corresponding periods in 2024. Changes in the mix shift of acquired receivables, noted above, will also lead to increases in the Net interest margin, annualized as the higher yielding receivables become a larger component of our total portfolio.
Average APR. The average annual percentage rate ("APR") charged to customers varies by receivable type, credit history and other factors. The APRs for receivables originated through our private label credit platform range from 0% to 36.0%. For general purpose credit card receivables, APRs range from 19.99% to 36.0%. We have experienced minor fluctuations in our average APR based on the relative product mix of receivables purchased during a period. For those receivables that did not contain fixed APRs we have seen some increases in rates charged, as the underlying rates are tied to the federal funds borrowing rate which increased in 2022 and 2023. Our average APRs for general purpose credit card receivables remained largely consistent throughout 2024 with some increases noted as new product, policy, and pricing changes were implemented which raised the APRs associated with new receivable acquisitions. We expect some continued improvements in our average APRs as newly acquired receivables with higher APRs become a larger part of our overall portfolio of receivables. Our average APRs for Private label credit fell throughout 2024 due to a shift in the overall portfolio mix towards private label credit receivables acquired that tend to have lower effective yields but also for which we have limited loss exposure due to agreements with retail partners. We expect this declining trend to continue, however, the timing and relative mix of receivables acquired could cause some minor fluctuations. We do not acquire or service receivables that have an APR above 36.0%.
Receivables purchased during period. Receivables purchased during period reflect the gross amount of investments we have made in a given period, net of any credits issued to consumers during that same period. For most periods presented in 2024, our private label credit receivable purchases experienced overall growth, when compared to the same periods in 2023, largely based on the addition of new private label credit retail partners as well as growth within existing retail partnerships, as previously discussed. We may experience periodic declines in these acquisitions due to: the loss of one or more retail partners; seasonal purchase activity by consumers; labor shortages and supply chain disruptions; or the timing of new customer originations by our issuing bank partners. We currently expect private label credit receivable acquisitions in 2025 to be consistent with those in 2024, although the timing of the receivable acquisitions may vary based on seasonal spending patterns by consumers and our retail partners overall sales cycles. Our general purpose credit card receivable acquisitions tend to have more volatility based on the issuance of new credit card accounts by our issuing bank partners. As a result, the timing of new receivable acquisitions, particularly as it relates to general purpose credit cards, could be impacted in the short term. Nonetheless, we expect continued growth in the acquisition of these general purpose credit card receivables into 2025.
Auto Finance Segment
CAR, our auto finance platform acquired in April 2005, principally purchases and/or services loans secured by automobiles from or for, and also provides floor-plan financing for, a prequalified network of independent automotive dealers and automotive finance companies in the buy-here, pay-here used car business. We have expanded these operations to also include certain installment lending products in addition to our traditional loans secured by automobiles both in the U.S. and U.S. territories.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
For reasons set forth above within our CaaS segment discussion, we also provide managed receivables-based financial, operating and statistical data for our Auto Finance segment. Reconciliation of the auto finance managed receivables data to GAAP data requires an understanding that our managed receivables data are based on billings and actual charge-offs as they occur, without regard to any changes in our allowance for credit losses. Similar to the managed calculation above, the average managed receivables used in the ratios below is calculated based on the quarter ending balances of consolidated receivables.
A reconciliation of our operating revenues and other income to comparable amounts used in our calculation of Total managed yield ratios follows (in millions):
| At or for the Three Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consumer loans, including past due fees | $ | 9.6 | $ | 10.0 | $ | 10.4 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 10.1 | $ | 10.1 | $ | 9.7 | $ | 9.2 | |||||||||||||||
| Fees and related income on earning assets | — | 0.1 | — | — | 0.1 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue and other income | 9.8 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 9.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finance charge-offs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield | $ | 9.8 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 10.6 | $ | 10.5 | $ | 10.4 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 9.9 | $ | 9.4 |
The calculation of Combined principal net charge-offs used in our Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized follows (in millions):
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | Dec. 31 | Sep. 30 | Jun. 30 | Mar. 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross charge-offs | $ | 1.5 | $ | 3.1 | $ | 3.5 | $ | 1.8 | $ | 1.1 | $ | 0.9 | $ | 0.8 | $ | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Finance charge-offs (1) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recoveries | (0.6 | ) | (0.7 | ) | (0.7 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (0.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-offs | $ | 0.9 | $ | 2.4 | $ | 2.8 | $ | 1.3 | $ | 0.6 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.3 | $ | 0.6 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (1) | Finance charge-offs are included as a component of our Provision for credit losses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. |
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Financial, operating and statistical metrics for our Auto Finance segment are detailed (in thousands; percentages of total) in the following tables:
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Sep. 30 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Jun. 30 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Mar. 31 | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables (1) | $ | 108,982 | $ | 110,638 | $ | 117,951 | $ | 122,321 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 7,590 | 7.0 | % | $ | 8,873 | 8.0 | % | $ | 9,200 | 7.8 | % | $ | 7,796 | 6.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 3,217 | 3.0 | % | $ | 3,801 | 3.4 | % | $ | 3,834 | 3.3 | % | $ | 3,031 | 2.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 4,723 | 4.3 | % | $ | 5,305 | 4.8 | % | $ | 4,944 | 4.2 | % | $ | 3,220 | 2.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average managed receivables | $ | 109,810 | $ | 114,295 | $ | 120,136 | $ | 120,183 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield ratio, annualized (2) | 35.7 | % | 36.0 | % | 35.3 | % | 34.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized (3) | 3.3 | % | 8.4 | % | 9.3 | % | 4.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recovery ratio, annualized (4) | 2.2 | % | 2.4 | % | 2.3 | % | 1.7 | % |
| At or for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 31 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Sep. 30 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Jun. 30 | % of Period-end managed receivables | Mar. 31 | % of Period-end managed receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period-end managed receivables (1) | $ | 118,045 | $ | 118,007 | $ | 115,055 | $ | 113,367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30-59 days past due | $ | 9,421 | 8.0 | % | $ | 8,627 | 7.3 | % | $ | 8,070 | 7.0 | % | $ | 6,145 | 5.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 60-89 days past due | $ | 3,373 | 2.9 | % | $ | 3,278 | 2.8 | % | $ | 3,047 | 2.6 | % | $ | 1,977 | 1.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| 90 or more days past due | $ | 3,542 | 3.0 | % | $ | 2,607 | 2.2 | % | $ | 1,699 | 1.5 | % | $ | 1,942 | 1.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Average managed receivables | $ | 118,026 | $ | 116,531 | $ | 114,211 | $ | 109,317 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total managed yield ratio, annualized (2) | 35.2 | % | 35.4 | % | 34.7 | % | 34.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized (3) | 2.0 | % | 1.7 | % | 1.1 | % | 2.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recovery ratio, annualized (4) | 1.7 | % | 1.7 | % | 1.8 | % | 1.5 | % |
| (1) | Period-end managed receivables equal the corresponding amount of loans at amortized cost included in Note 2 "Significant Accounting Policies and Consolidated Financial Statement Components" in our consolidated financial statements. |
|---|---|
| (2) | The total managed yield ratio, annualized is calculated using the annualized Total managed yield as the numerator and Period-end average managed receivables as the denominator. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (3) | The Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized is calculated using the annualized Combined principal net charge-offs as the numerator and Period-end average managed receivables as the denominator. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| (4) | The Recovery ratio, annualized is calculated using annualized Recoveries as the numerator and Period-end average managed receivables as the denominator. |
Managed receivables. Recent stress noted at some dealer locations has resulted in higher than anticipated credit losses associated with floorplan loans. When coupled with increased delinquencies associated with the underlying consumers loans, we have experienced period over period declines in our managed receivables for the third and fourth quarter of 2024. We expect modest growth in the level of our managed receivables for 2025 although we may continue to be below managed receivables levels (when compared to the same periods in prior years ) for the next few quarters as we rebuild our receivables base and CAR expands within its current geographic footprint and continues plans for service area expansion. Although we continue to expand our CAR operations, the Auto Finance segment faces strong competition from other specialty finance lenders, as well as the indirect effects on us of our buy-here, pay-here dealership partners’ competition with other franchise dealerships for consumers interested in purchasing automobiles. We continually evaluate bulk purchases of receivables and experienced good growth in our receivables base throughout 2023 resulting from several bulk purchases; however, the timing and size of such purchases are difficult to predict.
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Delinquencies and charge-offs. Delinquent loans reflect the principal, fee and interest components of loans we did not collect on or prior to the contractual due date and are considered "past due". While we have experienced recent increases in our delinquency rates (and related charge-offs), we do not believe they will have a significantly adverse impact on our results of operations in 2025 as we have established appropriate reserves for these losses. Even at slightly elevated rates, we earn significant yields on CAR’s receivables and have significant dealer reserves (i.e., retainages or holdbacks on the amount of funding CAR provides to its dealer customers) and other collateral to protect against meaningful credit losses. Delinquency rates also tend to fluctuate based on seasonal trends and historically are lower in the second quarter of each year as seen above due to the benefits of strong payment patterns associated with tax refunds for many consumers.
Total managed yield ratio, annualized. We have experienced modest fluctuations in our total managed yield ratio largely impacted by the relative mix of receivables in various products offered by CAR as some shorter-term product offerings tend to have higher yields. Yields on our CAR products over the last few quarters are consistent with our expectations over the coming quarters. Further, we expect our total managed yield ratio to remain in line with current experience, with moderate fluctuations based on relative growth or declines in average managed receivables for a given quarter. These variations depend on the relative mix of receivables in our various product offerings.
Combined principal net charge-off ratio, annualized and recovery ratio, annualized. We charge off auto finance receivables when they are between 120 and 180 days past due, unless the collateral is repossessed and sold before that point, in which case we will record a charge off when the proceeds are received. Combined principal net charge-off ratios in the above table reflect the lower delinquency rates we have recently experienced. Increases in our Combined principal net charge-off ratios throughout 2023 are indicative of our charge off levels returning to historically normalized levels (i.e., those periods prior to COVID-19 and the related government stimulus programs). While we anticipate our charge offs to be incurred ratably across our portfolio of dealers, specific dealer-related losses are difficult to predict and can negatively influence our combined principal net charge-off ratio as was evidenced throughout 2024. We continually re-assess our dealers and will take appropriate action if we believe a particular dealer’s risk characteristics adversely change. While we have appropriate dealer reserves to mitigate losses across the majority of our pool of receivables, the timing of recognition of these reserves as an offset to charge offs is largely dependent on various factors specific to each of our dealer partners including ongoing purchase volumes, outstanding balances of receivables and current performance of outstanding loans. As such, the timing of charge-off offsets is difficult to predict; however, we believe that these reserves are adequate to offset any loss exposure we may incur. Additionally, the products we issue in the U.S. territories do not have dealer reserves with which we can offset losses. We also expect our recovery rate to fluctuate modestly from quarter to quarter due to the timing of the sale of repossessed autos.