WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve recently announced that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 6.5 percent in May 2007, reported SubPrime Auto Finance News.

Meanwhile, revolving credit grew at an annual rate of 9.75 percent, and non-revolving credit was up 4.5 percent on an annual basis.

Looking specifically at the average APR of new-vehicle loans at auto finance companies, the Federal Reserve found the median rate was 4.88 percent, down slightly from 5.04 percent in April, but still up from 3.89 percent in March.

The Federal Reserve discovered that the average maturity on vehicle loans increased slightly to 61.1 months, compared with 57.8 months in April and 58.3 months in March.

Moreover, the loan-to-value ratio for the auto loans came in at 94 percent, compared to 92 percent in April and 91 percent in March.

Federal Reserve statistics indicate that the average amount financed for a new car is increasing over time. In May the median came in at $27,163, compared with $27,013 in April and $26,998 in March.

The Federal Reserve also reported that the average interest rate on 48-month term auto loan from commercial banks was 7.92 percent. The closest available comparison was in the first quarter of this year when this figure was 7.74 percent. Figures were not available for April or March.