CINCINNATI -

After seeing data from the Federal Reserve, Swapalease.com expected its vehicle-lease transfer approval rate to improve in October.

Site officials determined lease credit applicants registered a 70.9 percent approval rate in October, a slight rise from the September rate of 69.8 percent.

The year-over-year improvement was much more robust as Swapalease.com mentioned just 55.6 percent of lease applicants were approved in October 2017. Meanwhile, only 61.5 percent were approved in October 2016.

The site explained improvements followed the Fed’s consumer credit announcement where policymakers reported that consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of just 3.3 percent in September, down from the 7.0 percent increase in August.

The Fed added that nonrevolving credit, which includes auto financing, decreased at an annual rate of 0.4 percent, following a 5.3-percent increase in August.

Swapalease.com noted that lease approvals have been slowly increasing since January, with a slight dip in approvals in May and again in September. The approval rate was up again in October, and sits just below the highest approval rating of the year which was in August at 72.6 percent.

Swapalease.com is benefitting from more vehicle shoppers seeking alternate channels for lease deals, as incentives on leases have decreased at the dealership.

“Our lease approval rate continues to hover near market-healthy levels, especially as the continued strong economy helps with lease approvals,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president at Swapalease.com.

“We’re continuing to see an influx of applicants who are looking to change vehicles but take advantage of yesterday’s lease deals by taking over an existing contract as opposed to the higher payments they’re being offered at dealerships today,” Hall went on to say.