Following a sweeping crackdown, U.S. federal prosecutors have seized, and investors may recover, approximately $15 billion in bitcoin from what authorities describe as one of the largest cryptocurrency investment frauds ever uncovered — a sprawling “pig butchering” operation built on forced labor and human trafficking. The cryptocurrency is already in U.S. government custody, and recovery...
PrimaLend’s Chapter 11 case is being closely watched as a key indicator of market confidence in the troubled subprime auto lending sector. The Texas-based lender gained court approval for bidding procedures last week as it attempts to sell its assets and maximize value for its loan portfolios that serve low-income auto customers.
Bitcoin’s 2025 price swings may not have been predicted, but they impacted market conduct in predictable ways. When asset prices decline, disputes over the allocation of losses often arise; conversely, during periods of rising asset prices, competition increases and the potential for risks associated with improper conduct also escalates. Add in a government’s retreat from regulation and...
The bankruptcies of Tricolor and PrimaLend marked the first major insolvencies that the U.S. auto lending industry had seen in years. According to industry observers, they serve as a wake-up call for lenders that may have grown too comfortable with minimal oversight and few consequences.
Deportation policies and due diligence blind spots are exposing hidden risks in the U.S. consumer ABS market. The market is facing a new kind of crisis — not of defaulting borrowers, but of disappearing ones. As mass deportations and tightening immigration enforcement under the Trump administration continue, lenders are grappling with the fallout: when borrowers are suddenly deported or lose...
When a lender falls, it’s tempting to believe it is an isolated failure. When a second lender fails, it’s time to look for broader patterns of stress in corners of the market. For subprime auto and broader consumer lending, PrimaLend’s chapter 11 bankruptcy, after months of missed interest payments and mounting creditor pressure, should be a catalyst for parties to re-evaluate how they conduct...
In a troubling development for the broader subprime auto and asset-backed securities markets, several auto loans tied to Tricolor Auto were found to contain duplicate vehicle identification numbers (VINs), suggesting that the same vehicles were pledged as collateral in more than one transaction. An obvious issue hidden in a blind spot that indicates failure of attention, rather than...
