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BOARD OF GOVERNORS
OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
March 11, 1948

0.20
SALES FINANCE COMPANIES

JANUARY 1948
Retail financing.--The volume of automotive and other retail financing dropped in
January after showing strong gains in the preceding month. The declines in volume from the
December levels of activity were largely seasonal, and were accompanied by further increases in
balances outstanding.
The drop of 5 per cent in total automotive paper acquired shown in the table below reflected a reduced volume of financing for all types of vehicles. Financing of used vehicles
registered the largest percentage decline. The decrease in the financing of new vehicles was
much less pronounced than the fall in motor vehicle output in January.

>

Financing of consumers• goods other than automotive also showed declines in all classes
of paper and the total was down 26 per cent. Repair and modernization financing continued to
fall off, reflecting in part a reduction in activity of this type during the winter months. Other
classes of non-automotive financing declined sharply in January following considerable increases
in volume in December.
Retail Financing by Sales Finance Companies

Class of retail instalment paper
Automotive:

Total retail

Passenger cars:

..

Colllllercial cars:

-7

New
Used

-3

New
Used

Other consumers• goods:

Percentage change. December 1947 to January 1948
Volume of paper
Outstanding balances 1
Number
of cars
acauired durine: month
end of month

~

I~

- 2

.!2

....

-8

- 7

-9
-9

- 5
-12

....

-26

+l

-34
-25
-34
- 6

..

Total

Furniture, radios, musical instruments
Refrigerators and other household appliances
Residential bu3lding repair and modernization
Miscellaneous retail

.

=.2

..

....

Wholesale financing.--The January volume of wholesale automotive financing was less
than in December as a result of a substantial drop in sales to dealers of new vehicles. Sales
to dealers of used vehicles, however, increased somewhat over the volume of the preceding month.
Non-automtive wholesale financing also declined in January. Despite the drops in paper acquired
during the month, balances outstanding on both automotive and non-automotive wholesale credit
continued to rise.
Ratio of paper acquired to balances outstanding,-The ratio of paper purchased during
the month to balances outstanding at the end of the month decreased 4 percentage points to 34 for
January.

Note.--January data, based on returns from 136 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, they are
not comparable with totals of preceding months.




Page 2
SALES FiliA:NCE COIIPA:NIES

Table 1.--Automotive and Diveraified Financing by Sales Finance ComJaniea
Indexea of Outatanding Balance•• December 31, 1939 • 100 !(
Total
Ret aU
all
automotive
aalea
financing

End of month
and year

Wholeaale
autanotive

Wholaaale
other
than
automotive

Retail
other
consumers•
goode

Industrial,
commercial,
and farm
equipment

1939.

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

It I

100

100

100

100

100

100

1940.

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

1.36

132

169

140

129

131

1941.

I

I

I

I

I

I

I I

I I

I

I

I

I

I

I I

1$2

149

17S

2$0

148

147

1942 ••••••..••••••••••

S3

37

112

40

76

61

1943.

I I I t I I 11111 t 1 I I

20

13

40

8

30

27

1944 ••••••••••••••••••

18

1S

24

11

26

26

194$.

I I

I

I

I

I I

22

18

27

38

39

23

I I

I

I

I I

I I

S9

42

90

224

lOS

S9

I

II I

I

II

119

88

163

394

226

89

62
68
73
78
82
87
91
94
100
lOS
111
119

4S
48

9S

2S2
287
32S

110
116
124
136
14S
lS7
168
180
192
206
218
226

60
61
68
67
70
7l
74
87
86
92
89
89

I

I

II I

I

I

19471

I

I

I It I

I I

I I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

1947-Januar,v ••••••••••
February •••••••••

Karch ••••••••••••
April ..••••••••.•
J4q, • • • • • • • • •. • • •
June, ••.•••.•• , ••
Jul)' ••••••••• ••••
A.ugu1t •••. •••••••

September ••••••••
October ••••••••••
November •••••••••

December •••••••••

S3

sa

62
66
69
72
7S
79
83
88

lOS
111
110
106
111
109
103
122
124
138
163

341

3Sl
346
336
333
321
310

359
394

'

""•

I I

I I

1946. I~

I

,.

167
426
123
92
229
92
l948•J&nU&r1••••••••••
Indexee as of December 31 for the yeara of 1939, 1940, and 1941 are baaed on figures reported by
aalea finance companiea on a supplementary report form which accompanied the regular monthly report form for January 1942, Succeeding indexu are derived by calculating the percentage
change• of the outetanding balances reported by ealee finance companies for each month from
those reported by the ume oompeniea for the preceding mnnth, and by linki·ng these percentages
to the indexes ror the preceding month,

!/

Table 2.--Relative Importance of Loaus Made by Sales Finance Companies
During Januar1 1948 and Outstanding Balances at End of Month

Clan of paper

Paper acquired
durin.: month
Percentage
Amount
or total

Outstanding balances,
end of month
Percentage
Amount
of total

Total, all clanu of paper!( ....... ,

th79 6Sl 901

100

81.422.3S4.267

lOO

Total lcana.,.,., ••••.,., .• •••, .•. ,,

2

3
6

142a22laJ2!i
78,723;277
67,268,047

10

Buaineea loan a, •. ..... , .•.•......•

~·688.67~
1 ,212,09
29,476,S79

Total aalea financing !(.,,., ••••• ,,

43S,963,228

91

1,276,)62,943

90

Small (peraonal) loans, •••••••••••

s
s

!( Included in this classification are only those firms which, in addition to their sales financing
operation•, reported loan activitiee,



..

Page 3

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SAU!:S FINANCE COKPANIES

Table 3.-~utomoti .. and Di .. rsified Financing by Salea Finance Campaniea
Paper Acquired During January 1948 and Balances Outstanding at End of Month
Volume of paper acquired
during January 1948
Clue of pttper

I~

By companies

By all
compani..
reporting

Outstanding
balances
January 31,

Ratio paper
acquired to
out standi;,
balances b

1948 !I

reporting
outatandi~J

balances a

Total retail automotive,,,,,,, ••••••••••••
Total wholesale automotive,, ••••••••••••••
Total wholesale- other than automotive,,,
Total retail- other consumers• goods •••••
Industriel, commercial, and fare equipment

$115,701,194
287,2$5,322
10,131,719
30,331,374
8,402,023

$114.~8,514

$ 649,093,611

233,361,288
32,033,368
340,838,514
69,991,922

18
123
32
9
12

Total sales financing ••••••••• ,,

$451,821,632

$448,539,660

$1,325,318,703

34

285,899,025
10,121,638
30,191,652
8,278,831

!( Data are based on figures from sales finance companies able to report both their paper

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1--

Table

of ~rs Financed and Volume of Paper Acquired
by Sales Finance Companies During Janua:i-y 1948
NUlllber of care

Paper

Percentage
of total

Total retail automotive ••••••••••••••••

108,547

100

$111,431,751

New passenger oara •••••••••••••••••••
oars •••••••••...•••••

41,644
7,680
54,883
4,340

38
7
51
4

54,396,545
11,648,895
41,617,795
3, 768,516

49
11
37
3

Total wholesale automotive,, •••••••••••

202 1136

100

100

!;ew cars (passenger and commercial) ..
Used cars (passenger and commercial),

177,747
24,389

88
12

t282z.:Mz7~5 ~
255,940,014
26,407,721

Used

camu~rcial

Dollar
volume

acquired

NUlllber

llew commercial cars •• ,, ••• , ••••••••• ,
Used passenger cars ••••••••••••••••••
~

and

4.--~umber

Class of paper

I

ac~uired

their outstanding balances,
~ Ratios obtained by dividing paper acquired (column 2) by out£tanding balances (column 3),

Percentage
of total

y

100

91
9

!( Data are based on reports from sales finance compNties 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 January 1948

Clau of paper

.
....

Retail - other consumers• goods:
Furniture, radios, pianos, and other musical instruments,,
Refrigerators and other household appliances, •••••••••••••
Residential building repairs and modernization, •••••••••••
Miscellaneous retail,, •...•.••..•• , •• ,,, •..••.•.••...•. , ••
Total retail - other consumers• goods ..••••..•••.••..••.••••••

Total wholesale- other than automotive •••••••••••••••••••••••
Industrial, commercial, and farm equipment ••••••••••••••••••••
Total diversified financing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

of

Dollar volume
paper acquired

$ 1,432,314

4,116,202
14,346,294
9,829,702

$29 '724,512 f!/
10,131,719

Percentage
of total

3
9
30

20

8,1~02,023

62
21
17

$48,258,254

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,