You can decide how connected the timing of these two auto finance trends are.

Cox Automotive reported last week that auto credit availability in April tightened to a point not seen in almost two years. This week, S&P Indices and Experian found that the auto default rate for April dropped sequentially by the most basis points in two years, as well.

The auto portion of the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices showed the rate for April came in at 0.79%, which was 8 basis points lower than March.

The last time the rate dropped that much month by month was April to May of 2021 when the reading dipped from 0.43% to 0.34%.

And for reference, a month after that downward sequence came the all-time low for the auto segment of the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices when the June 2021 reading sunk to 0.30%.

Turning back to the newest data, S&P Indices and Experian noticed that the composite rate — which represents a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults — ticked 2 basis points lower in April to 0.74%.

Analysts added the first mortgage default rate dipped by 3 basis points in April to 0.52%, while the bankcard default rate increased for the seventh month in a row. That reading now stands at 3.46%, which is the highest it’s been since July 2020, according to the S&P Indices and Experian database.