Full text of G.20 Sales Finance Companies : July 11, 1952

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-L. 5?

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Go20

July 11, 1952
SALES FINANCE COMPANIES
MAY 1952

Retail financing—Purchases of retail automotive paper by sales finance companies increased
sharply in May, reflecting primarily increases in acquisitions of passenger car paper. The largest gain,
hi per cent, was reported for purchases of new passenger car paper; purchases of used passenger car paper
increased 2h per cent. Outstanding balances of retail automotive paper at the end of May were 5 per cent
above both the preceding month-end and a year ago. This increase brought outstandings to a level just
under the peak of September 19?1.
Sales finance company purchases of other retail instalment paper expanded 2h per cent from April
to May. An increase of 5>1 per cent occurred in the volume of household appliance paper acquired, and
acquisitions of repair paper were up 19 per cent. Purchases of furniture and television paper, however,
were practically unchanged. Outstanding balances of other retail instalment paper at the end of May were
3 per cent above April 30. This increase was the first reported so far this year.
Retail Financing by Sales Finance Companies

Class of retail paper
Automotives

Total retail

Percentage change, April 1952 to May 1952
Number
Volume of paper
Outstanding balances
of cars acquired during month
end of month
+18

+30

New
Used

+29

+1U

+hl
+2U

Commercial cars: New
Used

+ 7
- 2

+ 6
0

Passenger cars:

Other consumer goods:

Total

Furniture, radios, television sets, musical instruments
Refrigerators and other household appliances
Residential building repair and modernization
Miscellaneous retail

+2li

±1

+ 3

+ 1
+51
+19
+13

Wholesale financing—Wholesale automotive paper acquired during May was unchanged from the preceding month. Outstanding balances dropped about 5 per cent, and at the month-end were about 1* per cent
below the year-ago level.
The volume of wholesale financing of other consumer goods increased moderately during the month.
Outstanding balances, however, declined about 5 per cent, and at the month-end were about two-thirds of
the amount outstanding a year ago.

note.—May data, based on returns from 10U sales finance companies, are compiled in the same "
manner as those shown in earlier reports. Aggregates represent only the totals for the reporting companies
and, since the reporting sample is not identical from month to month, thev are not comparable with totals
of preceding months.




.

Page 2
SALES FINANCE COMPANIES

Table 1,—Automotive and Diversified Financing by Sales Finance Companies
Indexes of Outstanding Balances; December 31, 1939 - 100 a/

End of month
and year

Total
all
sales
financing

68

1939
191,0
191*1
191*2
191*3
19l*l*
191*5

92
103
36
Hi
12
15

191*7
191*8
191*9
195 0
1951

81
118
155
198
202

1951-Ma y
June.....
July.o.o.

August...
September
October..
November.
December.
1952-January..
February.
March....
April....
May

a/

Wholesale
automotive

Wholesale
other
than
automotive

Retail
other
consumers*
goods

Industrial,
commercial,
and farm
equipment

2k
3k

k9

100
131
1U7
61
27
23
23
59
89
116
107
130
151

55

76
101
11I4
28
10
11
lli
32
67
115
190

92
96

61
10
2

61*

218

13
15
U9
89
138
118
162
197

97
111
81
126
120

73
38
15
13
19
52
112
llli
92
87
75

202
205
202
203
203
203
203
202

2U1

219

220

76

221
203

181

25U
251
2U8

186

196
196
196

2JU.3

181

ho

191*6

Retail
automotive

200
206

61
22

2U8

2ii5
2L8

3
9

55

202

185

253
256

156
1U7
139
130

178

196
197

2U0
238
2hl

189
199

7k
7k
7k

75

116
136

73
72
71

lkk

197

25U

72
73

120

151
152

208

7k

69
71

138

lliO
1U3
1U6

1U9
1U9
150
151
156
160

163
168
170

Indexes a, of December 31 for the years of 1939. 1940, and 1941 are based on figures reported by
finance companies on a supplementary report form which accompanied the regular monthly report form for January 1942. Succeeding indexes are derived by calculating the percentage
changes of the outstanding balances reported by sales finance companies for each month from
those reported by the same companies for the preceding month, and by linking these percentages
to the indexes for the preceding month.

J

s e ies

Table 2 R e l a t i v e Importance of Loans Made by Sales Finance Companies
During
May 1952
and Outstanding Balances at End of Month

Outstanding balances,
end of month

Paper acquired
during month
Class of paper
Amount

Percentage
of total

Amount

Percentage
of total

$1,098,56U,395

100

$3,675,131,600

100

Total loans
Small (personal) loans.
Business loans

88,755,898
31,1*67,916
57,287,982

3
5

262,282,5"!*
139,1*89,132
122,793,372

k

Total sales financing 5/.

1,009,808,1*97

92

3,1*12,81*9,096

93

Total, all classes of paper a/

•7

3

Included in this classification are only those firms which, in addition to their sales financing
operations, reported loan activities.




Page 3
SALES FINANCE COMPANIES

Table 3.—automotive and Diversified Financing by Sales Finance Companies
Paper Acquired During
May 1952
and Balances Outstanding at End of Month
Volume of paper acquired
during May 1952
Class of paper

166,633,857
517,987,103
13,ono,956
35,538,813
12,802,113

$1,025,962,877

a/
b/

Ratio paper
acquired to
outstanding
balances ty

UUi,oiU,5U2
516,070,987
12,635,116
32,55b,900
12,095,07"

$2,536,073,958
51)8,252,305
1.3,8l8,l)lin
216,1714,916
127,"25,671)

17
9li
29
15
10

$1,011,370,915

$3,1)71,31)5,293

29

By all
companies
reporting
$

Total wholesale - other than automotive..•
Total retail - other consumers' goods
Industrial, commercial, and farm equipment

Outstanding
balances
May 31,
1952 a/

By companies
reporting
outstanding
balances &/
$

Data are based on figures from sales finance companies able to report both their paper acquired and
their outstanding balances•
Ratios obtained by dividing paper acquired (column 2) by outstanding balances (column 3).
Table 4.—Number of 4Jars Financed and Volume of Paper Acquired
by Sales Finance Companies During May 1952

Paper

Number of cars
Class of paper
Number

Hew cars (passenger and commercial)..
Used cars (passenger and commercial).

Percentage
of total

320,01a

100

95,053
13,086
196,289
15,586

30

61
5

292,900

100

235,577
57,323

80
20

h

Dollar
volume
$379,005,91)5 a /
161,839,607
20,71)1,631)
183,96O,233
12,1)61),1)71
$513,636,780 a /
1)56,657,239
56,979,51)1

acquired
Percentage
of total
loo

h3
5

h9
3

loo
89
11

a/ Data are based on reports from sales finance companies providing a breakdown of their retail and
wholesale automotive financing. These amounts are less than those reported in table 3 due to the
exclusion of some data for which breakdowns were not available.

Table 5.—Volume of Diversified Sales Financing During May 1952

Class of paper
Retail - other consumers' goods:
Furniture, radios, pianos, and other -musical instruments.,

Dollar volume
of paper acquired

Percentage
of total

$ 5,71)3,"56
13,623,282
1),1)71,1)12
9,903,015

10
23
7
17

$33,71)0,765 a /
13,000,956 ~
12,802,11)3

57
22
21

$59,51)3,86I1

100

Data are based on reports from sales finance companies providing a breakdown of their retail
financing of other consumers' goods. This amount is less than that reported in table 3 due to the
exclusion of some data for which breakdowns were not available.