Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports lease credit approvals for May were down -11.5% from the month before, with 69.6% of car lease shoppers gaining approval by the bank to proceed with a car lease transfer compared with 78.6% during April. 

The year-to-date (67.4%) lease credit approval rate in 2015 has performed slightly better than same time a year ago when 65.9% of car lease shoppers were gaining approvals. And despite some continued volatility each month, the YTD approvals rate has steadily climbed each month since March when it reached a low of 63.4%.

SubPrime customers continue to drive a large makeup of the lease declines each month, but Swapalease.com executives believe banks may want to consider relaxing their credit standards for approval. The economy has continued to improve, unemployment continues to grow, and auto delinquencies have remained in check throughout the economic rebound. Furthermore, SubPrime car shoppers interested in taking over a lease would only have payment obligations typically less than 24 months, and their ability to make payments would actually help improve their credit profile.

“We’re hopeful that the industry will consider new ways to extend lease options to customers even with less-than-stellar credit,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. “The industry has expanded risk environments to very long-term loans, and we feel the environment for risk would be muted in an environment of less than 24 months even for a SubPrime credit profile.”

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Swapalease.com is the world’s largest automotive lease marketplace and the pioneer in facilitating lease transfers online. More specifically Swapalease.com matches individuals who want to get out of their lease with people who are looking for short-term lease agreements. Prospective buyers can search the listings for the exact vehicle they want, and then register for a nominal fee, allowing them to use Swapalease.com’s safe online system to contact the prospective seller and close the deal.