Full text of G.20 Sales Finance Companies : March 13, 1950

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J

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
March 13 1 1950

G.20
SAI.ES FINANCE COMPANIES

JANUARY 1950

Retail financing.--The January volume of retail instalment paper purchased by reporting
sales finance companies was less than in December for both automotive and other retail financing.
Balances outstanding for the automotive segment continued to increase but at a somewhat slower
rate than in other recent months. Balances based on other retail instalment financing continued
to decline.
The 6 per cent drop in the dollar volume of automobile financing, as sho"W!l in the table
below, reflected decreases in transactions for all types of vehicles.
The financing of other retail goods was 24 per cent less than that of a month earlier.
Paper based on sales of furniture, radios, and musical instruments showed the largest percentage
decline.
Retail Financing by Sales Finance Companies

Class of retail instalment paper

Automotive:

Percentage change December 1 ~49 to Jarmary 1950
Number
Volume of paper
Outstanding balances,
of cars
a~q_uired duril]g month
end of month

=-.2

;:.2

New
Used

- 2
- 6

-4

New
Used

-ll

Total retail

.±....!

- 8
-ll

...
...
...
...

Total

~

=-..1

Furniture, radios, llD.lsical instruments
Refrigerators and other household appliances
Residential building repair and modernization
Miscellaneous retail

-19
-21
-23

Passenger cars:
Commercial cars:

Other consumer goods:

Yfholesale
siderably following
by a marked rise in
December volume and

- 9

- 6

-39

...
...
...
...

financing.--Motor vehicle wholesale paper acquired in January increased cona sharp drop during the preceding month. The January increase ?ms accompanied
outstanding balances. Wholesale financing of other goods was below the
outstanding balances were further reduced.

Ratio of paper acqqired to balances outstanding.--The turnover rate of receivables as
measured by the ratio of paper purchased during the month to outstanding balances at the end of
the month increased 6 percentage points to 26 for January.

NOTE.--January data, based on returns from 123 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 FINANCE COMPANIES

Table I.--Automotive and Diversified Financing by Sales Finance Companies
Indexes of Outstanding Balances: December 31, 1939 • 100 ~

End of month
and year

Total
all
sales
financing

1939··················
1940••••••••••••••••••
1941 ..................
1942 ..................
1943 ••••••••••••••••••
1944 ••••••••••••••••••
1945 ..................
1946 ..................
1947 ••••••••••••••••••
1948 ..................
1949 ••••••••••••••••••

100
136
152

1949-January ••••••••••
February •••••••••
March ••••••••••••
April ••••••••••••

Retail
automotive

Wholesale
automotive

Wholesale
other
than
automotive

Retail
other
consumers•
goods

Industrial,
commercial,
and farm
equipment

100
129
148
76
30
26
39
105
226
232
187

100
131
147
61
27
26
23

100
169
175
112
40
24
27

174
228

100
132
149
37
13
15
18
42
88
151
249

163
252
216

100
140
250
40
8
11
38
224
394
454
332

August •••••••••••
September ••••••••
October ••••••••••
November •••••••••
December •••••••••

177
180
184
188
191
198
203
214
225
232
233
228

152
155
164
175
188
197
2o6
219
228
237
245
249

273
289
281
260
219
225
227
242
279
294
267
216

484
561
571
551
515
479
430
417
400
311
361
332

221
214
207
203
202
203
203
202
199
195
190
187

118
il7
ill
112
112
111
ill
111
ilO
111
110
107

195o..January••••••••••

221

252

250

329

180

110

May ••••••••••••••

June .............
July •••••••••••••

53

20
18
22

59

119

90

59

89
116
107

Indexes as of .December 31 for the years of 1939, 1940, and 1941 are based on figures reported by
sales 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 tl1e preceding month, and by linking these percentages
to the indexes for the preceding month.

Table 2.--Relative Importance of Loans Made by Sales Finance Companies
During January 1950 and Outstanding Balances at End of Month
Paper acquired
during month
Class of paper

Outstanding balances,
end of month

Amount

Percentage
of total

Amount

Percentage
of total

Total, all classes of paper ~·······•

$751 ol5.78u

100

$2,697.177.213

100

Total loans.,., •••••••••••••••••••••
Small (personal) loans ••••••••••••
Business loans ••••••••••••••••••••

36,216,3:33
9,141,047
27,135,286

5
1
4

111,267,682
67,975,495
76,292,187

c;
2
3

Total sales financing~· •••••••••••

714,739,451

95

2,552,909,531

95

~

Included in this classificat~on are only those firms which, in add1tion to their sales financing
operations, reported loan activities.

Page 3

SALES FINANCE COMPANIES

Table 3.-~utamotive and Diversified Financing by Sales Finance Companiea
Paper Acquired During January 1950 and Balances Outstanding at End of Month
Volume of paper acquired
during January 1950
Class of paper

By all
companies
reporting

By companies
reporting

Ratio paper
acquired to
out standi,;,
balances b

Outstanding
balances
January 31,

1950 !!1

outstandi~J

balances a

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

$238,012,473
463,636,639
7,393,722
18,057,773
6,405,659

$236,327,394
461,742,946
7,366,840
17,926,125
6,390,309

$2,015,627,947
392,762,071
24,623,440
280,094,147
82 2543 1 482

12
118
30
6
8

Total sales financing •••••••••••

$733,506,266

$729' 753,614

$2,795,651,087

26

~

Data are based on figures from sales finance companies able to report both their paper ao~uired and
their outstanding balances,
Ratios obtained by dividing paper acquired (column 2) by outstanding balances (column 3),

E(

Table 4,--:Number of ~ars Financed and Volume of Paper Acquired
by Sales Finance Companies During January 1950

Number of oars
Class of paper

Paper

Number

Percentage
of total

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

205,045

100

New passenger care •. ..•.............•
tlew conunerciel cars •..........•..... ,
oars, ••••••••••••••••

82,102
9,727
104,668
8,548

40
5
51
4

Total whole sale automotive ••••• , •• , • , , •

289,865

100

liew cars (passenger and COtllllercial).,
Used cars (passenger and commercial),

274,684
15,131

95
5

Used passenger oars •••••••••••••••.• ,
Used

~

camu~rcial

acquired

Dollar
volume

$211 1 735 1 658 f!/
118,777,746
13,410,186
73,754,753
5,792,973
$436 1 206 1 219 a/
423,190,006
13,016,213

Percentage
of tot&l

100
56
6
35
3
100
97
3

Data are based on reports from sales finance compru1ies 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 1950

Class 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

$ 2,323.523

Percentage
of total

7

7,097,776
2,340,620
5.793,748

23

$17,555,667 !!1
7,393,722
6,405,659

56
24
20

$31,355,048

,~

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.