Fintech Upgrade Moves Into Auto Loans as Many Banks Abandon Them

  • Lender has previously offered auto-loan refinance options
  • Citizens, Capital One have pulled back from the sector

Renaud Laplanche, co-founder and chief executive officer of Upgrade Inc.

Photographer: Alex Flynn/Bloomberg
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Upgrade Inc. will offer consumer auto loans for the first time, jumping into a business that some banks have been abandoning because of credit-quality concerns.

The fintech plans to target “all types of consumers,” including those with FICO scores as low as 580, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement. Upgrade, which already offers auto-loan refinancing, said the auto-lending business launches on Wednesday.