CINCINNATI -

Steady is as good an adjective as any to describe credit approval trends in connection to vehicle leases last month, according to data reported on Tuesday by Swapalease.com.

Site officials said credit approvals came in relatively unchanged in October compared with the previous month. The year-to-date approvals for customer credit finished October at 72.8 percent, compared with September levels of 72.7 percent.

Swapalease indicated the current rate shows a marked improvement over last year’s percentage when 64.4 percent of approvals were processed through the end of October.

Officials reiterated that a 70-percent approval rating is considered healthy on the Swapalease.com marketplace.

The small monthly improvement in October reversed a three-month trend where the credit approval rating slipped from a high of 75.6 percent in July.

What’s more, October approvals alone registered at 73.7 percent compared with 70.0 percent during October of last year.

“We anticipated an eventual rebound in credit approvals, especially since car leasing has grown throughout the year,” Swapalease executive vice president Scot Hall said.

“We fully expect to see the balance of the year show continued trending that supports healthy approvals patterns as we head into 2014,” Hall continued.

Hall also pointed out that one clear reason why the approvals numbers have fallen compared with the beginning of the year is the fact that more people are going through the approvals process in general.

Swapalease noted that a total of 36 percent more applicants have gone through the approvals process during the last five months, compared with the first five months of this year.

“This sharp increase in total number of customers will often result in an increased number of people not being approved for credit,” Hall said.

Hall went on to mention that the previous 60 days’ approval activity has been the strongest two-month span so far in 2013 with a 75.5 percent approval rating during that time.

July and August were also the strongest two months of last year when a combined 75.0 percent approvals were recorded, according to Swapalease.

“The total number of applicants year-to-date has remained relatively unchanged compared with the same time period last year,” Hall said.

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