About the Conference

Auto loans are one of the largest components of household debt, and auto credit conditions influence consumer spending, household financial resilience, vehicle demand and prices, lender risk management, and the transmission of macroeconomic shocks. Rapid changes in vehicle technology, dealer and lender business models, data and analytics, and the used vehicle market continue to reshape risks and opportunities across the auto finance ecosystem.

The Conference on Auto Lending is a forum for the presentation and discussion of academic and policy-relevant research on topics related to auto lending and consumer finance. The conference will feature sessions on new and used vehicle lending, leasing, auto loan securitization, regulations affecting auto lending, and innovative technologies and AI applications in auto lending. Policy-oriented sessions will examine current issues and market trends, bringing together policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

This conference is organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Supervision, Regulation, and Credit Department and Supervisory Research Forum (SURF).

Topics of Interest

Submissions are welcome on a broad range of auto lending and auto finance topics, including but not limited to consumer demand and vehicle choice, loan pricing and contract design, underwriting and credit risk modeling, dealer intermediation and markups, borrower outcomes and delinquency dynamics, fraud and identity risk, fair lending and consumer compliance, subprime and near-prime market structure, repossession and loss mitigation, servicing and collections, the role of alternative data and automated decisioning, electric vehicles and evolving collateral risk, used vehicle prices and depreciation, auto insurance interactions, fintech and market structure, auto asset-backed securities, and spillovers from monetary policy and macroeconomic shocks.

Submission Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit completed papers or advanced drafts for consideration. Submissions should be made through the conference submission portal and must include a PDF of the paper with an added cover page containing the title, author names and affiliations, corresponding author contact information, and abstract. Papers will be selected by the conference organizers and the academic program committee. Authors of selected papers will be invited to present in person at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Important Dates

The paper submission deadline is July 15, 2026, with notification of decisions by August 15, 2026. For program-related questions, contact Xudong (Sean) An at xudong.an@phil.frb.org or Raluca Roman at raluca.roman@phil.frb.org.

Conference Organizers

(All from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)

Academic Program Committee

  • Manuel Adelino, Duke University
  • Sumit Agarwal, National University of Singapore
  • Bronson Argyle, Brigham Young University
  • Geng Li, Federal Reserve Board
  • David Low, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Erik Mayer, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Adair Morse, University of California, Berkeley
  • Christopher Palmer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Rodney Ramcharan, University of Southern California
  • Constantine Yannelis, University of Cambridge
  • Vincent Yao, Georgia State University
  • Anthony Lee Zhang, University of Chicago