Investors Turn Wary on Consumer Debt - WSJ
By Matt Grossman and Matt Wirz
Originally Posted on April 11, 2022 in the WSJ, download the PDF or view the full article here.
Demand softens for bonds backed by loans from riskier borrowers, along with shares of fintech consumer-lending companies. Investors are growing more skittish about bonds backed by consumer debt, worried that inflation and slowing growth will increase the number of low-income borrowers falling behind on car payments or credit card. Buyers of bonds backed by subprime car loans or credit cards are demanding the highest premiums over interest-rate benchmarks since mid-2020. Meanwhile, investors have punished shares of some financial technology companies that helped fuel a recent surge in consumer borrowing, such as Affirm Holdings and Upstart Holdings.