Pagaya president speaks to fintech’s lending strategy

Pagaya Technology’s lenders are leaning on the expansion of their dealership networks for growth as credit quality worsens and credit access remains mixed.

Credit access climbed 3.6% year over year and 0.8% month over month in June according to the DealerTrack Credit Availability Index published July 10. This marked the second consecutive month of credit access expansion following a dip in April as consumers rushed to purchase vehicles ahead of expected tariff-induced price hikes.

The index ended the month at 97.3.

However, June’s expansion follows mixed reports of credit access as many consumers entered the market with FICO scores up to 100 points lower following resumption of student loan delinquency reporting in the first half of the year.

These market trends prompted lenders to look for ways to grow without loosening credit standards, Sanjiv Das, president at Pagaya, told Auto Finance News. Pagaya purchases loans that meet its underwriting criteria from lenders and securitizes the loans to fund further originations.

“Our lenders are gradually starting to lend more,” he said. “They are spending a lot more of their efforts on dealers and building their networks, as opposed to expanding their credit box.”

Pagaya sees volume growth

Pagaya reported a 50% quarter-over-quarter increase in the second quarter in its auto annualized run rate, which surpassed $1.1 billion in Q1, according to a May 7 letter to shareholders. However, auto volume decreased 7% YoY.

“Last year was a relatively tough year for the entire auto industry,” Das said. “When you're in the public markets as a public company, you're always being pushed for growth, until one day that growth story cracks and falls on the other side.”

Slowed growth pushed Pagaya to focus on maintaining consistent yield for investors, he said. Simultaneously, its lenders reduced volume through the end of 2024, when consumers appeared to be in better shape.

Consumers seem to be in good shape “through the middle of 2025, and so we have significantly opened up our pipes into our lenders,” Das said, noting that Pagaya increased its volume with lenders because investor appetite has strengthened.