ATLANTA -

Along with the continued resurgence of subprime financing, Equifax highlighted that the amount of auto loans booked by both commercial banks and finance companies in November — the most recent data the company has available — came in higher than what analysts found for the same month going back seven years.

The finance company reading, which Equifax said are primarily sourced through captives, climbed to $946.6 million in November, up from $873.9 million a year earlier and the recent low point of $477.7 in November 2008.

The bank figure, consisting of contracts originated through commercial institutions and credit unions, rose to $905.3 million in November, up from $857.3 million a year earlier and the recent low point of $576.4 million back in November 2009.

Meanwhile, Equifax said subprime originations aren't quite back to pre-recession levels, but they continued to jump since they bottomed out in 2009.

The company determined approximately 30 percent of all the auto financing originated in November fell into subprime, consumers who have a credit score below 640. During the recession, Equifax put that pace at 25 percent. And during the heyday before the downturn, subprime financing constituted close to 40 percent of all loans, according to analysts.

"It's clear as we analyze the auto finance segment that auto lenders are doing a great job in accessing risk, managing their portfolios and making credit available to customers who need transportation to get to work or simply want to enjoy some of the great new models that manufacturers are producing," said Lou Loquasto, Equifax's auto finance vertical leader.

"The industry's ever-growing sophistication in using credit and non-credit data to aid decision-making is one of the key reasons for the health of this segment," Loquasto continued. "The biggest challenge that Equifax is hearing in the market today is shrinking yields, as more lenders look to auto finance as a source of quality receivables."

To overcome that challenge, Equifax noticed finance companies especially are taking on more risk. For November, analysts discovered this provider segment posted a higher concentration of loans booked to consumers with credit scores below 600 than individuals with scores above 760.

Furthermore, the average amount financed is on the rise, too. According to Equifax's data. The average amount in November came in at $20,422, up from $19,860 a year earlier. The November reading even topped the same month back in 2006. That's the last time the average climbed above $20,000.

Nonetheless, lenders are still hedging a little bit of risk when working with subprime customers. While the overall average jumped above $20,000 in November, Equifax indicated that average for subprime buyers was lower, coming in at $17,850. That level remains much higher than worst part of the recession when it slipped to $14,531 in November 2009. The latest average also is approaching the recent November high of $18,561 established in 2006.

Finally, illustrating how loan terms on are lengthening, Equifax noticed average monthly payments are holding nearly steady despite the average loan amount climbing. The November average monthly payment came in at $397, just $10 higher than a year earlier and only $3 above the reading in 2009. But back in November 2006, that average stood at $426.

Equifax chief economist Amy Crews Cutts looked to put all the data into perspective to summarize what's happening in the auto-financing space.

"Auto delinquencies have declined to levels last seen in mid-2006, and the strength in the performance of loans booked in the last few years is helping to make credit more widely available to those with higher-risk credit profiles, namely subprime borrowers," Crews Cutts said.

"The choices consumers are making with the types of cars they are buying have changed in the aftermath of the Great Recession, with a heavy emphasis on value for the dollar. Demand for new cars is rising, but the mix is now shifted towards economically and environmentally friendly features," she went on to say.