NEW YORK — After a significant reduction in auto loan originations last year, Chase Auto Finance is continuing to ramp these transaction ramp back up, ultimately increasing originations 82 percent year-over-year.

On Wednesday, the company reported that third-quarter auto finance originations came in at $6.9 billion, up significantly from $3.8 billion in the same quarter of 2008.

On a quarterly basis, officials said originations are up 30 percent from $5.3 billion in the second quarter.

"The year-over-year increase is driven by market share gains in prime segments and new manufacturing relationships," officials explained in their quarterly discussion. "The quarter-over-quarter increase was driven primarily by the CARS program."

Overall, average auto loans stood at $43.3 billion for the quarter, up from $43.1 billion in the second quarter, but down 1 percent from $43.9 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

Discussing complete company results, Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer said, "Our net income of $3.6 billion in the quarter reflected the strong earnings power of the company, with broad-based growth across the Investment Bank, Asset Management, Commercial Banking and Retail Banking. However, credit costs remain high and are expected to stay elevated for the foreseeable future in the Consumer Lending (which includes the auto finance division) and Card Services loan portfolios.

"Accordingly, we have added $2 billion to our consumer credit reserves, bringing the firm-wide total to $31.5 billion, or 5.3 percent of total loans," he added.

Looking to the future, Dimon said, "While we are seeing some initial signs of consumer credit stability, we are not yet certain that this trend will continue. Despite this near-term uncertainty about the path of the economy, our strong capital position and underlying earnings power will enable us to continue to invest in our business, creating a lasting franchise for many years to come."