CINCINNATI — Swapalease.com might have found more evidence
of improving credit for consumers.

Since the end of May, site officials discovered US Bank
customer approvals for taking over a contract on Swapalease.com climbed to an
average of 73.7 percent, compared with 55.5 percent at the same time last year.

The site emphasized consumer credit is a key element on the
Swapalease.com online lease swap marketplace. Every person interested in taking
over a remaining lease contract on a vehicle in the marketplace must have equal
or better credit than the current lessee.

Officials explained the lenders that own the lease are the
ones determining if an incoming person's credit is approved for transfer. They
noted U.S. Bank, the largest non-captive lender for leases, shows an
improvement in approval rates on Swapalease.com.

"While there are still areas of the economy that aren't
running on all cylinders, the atmosphere for credit in the automotive industry
is showing signs of improvement," said Scot Hall, executive vice president of
Swapalease.com.

"Auto loan delinquency rates are down and credit approval
ratings are up, a significant trend that shows a healthier consumer compared
with a few years ago," Hall continued.

Hall went on to mention all three credit-reporting agencies
have stated that credit delinquencies have declined for automotive payments.
Most recently, Equifax reported that the rate of July auto loan delinquencies
60 days or longer dropped 35 percent compared with last year.

On Swapalease.com, 24 percent of U.S. Bank-led lease
transfers were declined in July compared with 50 percent declined during the
same time last year. That trend has been consistent over the last four years
with 52.6 percent being declined in 2010, and 55.6 percent declined in 2009.