OREANDA-NEWS. February 04, 2015. Fitch Ratings says in a new report that European auto ABS continued to improve in 2014 as arrears reached record lows. The Fitch 30+ Delinquency Index and the Fitch 60+ Delinquency Index fell to 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively, from 1.4% and 0.6% at the end of 2013. The Fitch Annualised Loss Index decreased slightly to 0.3% from 0.4% in the same period.

Macro-economic factors also showed signs of improvement across the EU, with new car registrations increasing across all the five major EU economies in 2014. Used car prices in the EU also increased on an aggregate basis during the year.

Total new auto ABS issuance volumes in 2014, which include retained transactions, were the highest since the onset of the global financial crisis; levels were up a significant 43% in 2014 relative to 2013, including tap issuance from French and German Master Trusts.

The report, entitled 'Auto ABS Index - Europe 1Q15', is available on www.fitchratings.com or by clicking on the link above.

Separately, Fitch has launched ABS Compare, an Excel tool that provides easy access to the agency's surveillance and index data on European consumer and credit card ABS transactions (see "Fitch Launches ABS Compare to Improve Access to Surveillance Data" dated 12 November 2014 on www.fitchratings.com).