In the Federal Reserve's July 2026 survey of senior loan officers, a net 4.5% of banks said they had eased standards for auto loans over the prior three months. A negative reading means more banks eased than tightened. In the April 2026 survey the reading was -2.0, and a year earlier it was -3.8.
Demand moved the other way. A net 11.4% of banks reported weaker demand for auto loans (-11.4), compared with -9.8 in April 2026.
How to read the survey
The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey goes to up to 80 large domestic banks and 24 U.S. branches of foreign banks, four times a year. For each loan type, banks say whether their standards tightened, eased or stayed the same. The figure here is the share tightening minus the share easing. Zero means no net change, not that standards are loose or strict. The questions cover loans banks make directly or buy from dealers; they do not cover captive finance companies, credit unions or other lenders, which make much of the country's auto lending.
Banks last reported net tightening in the April 2025 survey.
Every survey since 2011
| Survey | Net share tightening standards | Net share reporting stronger demand |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | -4.5 | -11.4 |
| April 2026 | -2.0 | -9.8 |
| January 2026 | -6.1 | -22.9 |
| October 2025 | -5.8 | -19.2 |
| July 2025 | -3.8 | +5.8 |
| April 2025 | +1.9 | -3.8 |
| January 2025 | -3.8 | -3.8 |
| October 2024 | +4.1 | -12.8 |
| July 2024 | +0.0 | -10.4 |
| April 2024 | +9.8 | -26.0 |
| January 2024 | +6.3 | -16.7 |
| October 2023 | +14.6 | -24.4 |
| July 2023 | +14.6 | -21.3 |
| April 2023 | +27.5 | -26.5 |
| January 2023 | +17.3 | -39.2 |
| October 2022 | +2.0 | -28.0 |
| July 2022 | +1.9 | -15.7 |
| April 2022 | -5.8 | +13.5 |
| January 2022 | -14.5 | -7.4 |
| October 2021 | -9.4 | -15.4 |
| July 2021 | -18.6 | +27.1 |
| April 2021 | -17.5 | +10.3 |
| January 2021 | -7.0 | -12.3 |
| October 2020 | +13.5 | +7.7 |
| July 2020 | +55.4 | -49.1 |
| April 2020 | +16.0 | -34.7 |
| January 2020 | +8.9 | -5.4 |
| October 2019 | +0.0 | +10.3 |
| July 2019 | +3.5 | +10.5 |
| April 2019 | +1.8 | -1.8 |
| January 2019 | +1.9 | -18.2 |
| October 2018 | +3.6 | -1.8 |
| July 2018 | -3.5 | +3.5 |
| April 2018 | +6.5 | -6.6 |
| January 2018 | +4.9 | -8.5 |
| October 2017 | +9.8 | +5.0 |
| July 2017 | +7.7 | -9.2 |
| April 2017 | +11.5 | -13.3 |
| January 2017 | +11.7 | -13.6 |
| October 2016 | +3.3 | +16.7 |
| July 2016 | +8.1 | +16.1 |
| April 2016 | -3.3 | +18.0 |
| January 2016 | -6.3 | +1.6 |
| October 2015 | -9.7 | +3.3 |
| July 2015 | -3.2 | +17.7 |
| April 2015 | -6.1 | +9.0 |
| January 2015 | -4.7 | +4.7 |
| October 2014 | -7.6 | +25.4 |
| July 2014 | -4.5 | +24.2 |
| April 2014 | -7.8 | +10.9 |
| January 2014 | -15.2 | +7.7 |
| October 2013 | -12.3 | +18.8 |
| July 2013 | -14.1 | +27.0 |
| April 2013 | -10.3 | +18.3 |
| January 2013 | -16.1 | +25.0 |
| October 2012 | -9.7 | +16.9 |
| July 2012 | -22.8 | +33.3 |
| April 2012 | -17.3 | +35.3 |
| January 2012 | -14.0 | +14.3 |
| October 2011 | -19.6 | +10.9 |
| July 2011 | -20.0 | +14.3 |
| April 2011 | -14.6 | +25.0 |
Net percentage of domestic banks reporting tighter standards (STDSAUTO) and stronger demand (DEMAUTO) for auto loans to consumers, as reported in each quarterly survey. The Fed added this auto question in 2011. Dates in the CSV are the first day of the quarter in which the survey was published.
Source
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 24, 2026. Our table is available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Auto Loan Lending Standards at Banks: Fed Survey," My Credit Guide, October 24, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/auto-loan-lending-standards/.