Key Takeaways
- Define the population, cutoff date, balances, status mix, geography, and exclusions.
- Separate tape fields from title, lien, collateral, and recovery evidence.
- Reconcile totals to source systems and identify unknown, missing, and conflicting values.
- Keep borrower-level records and unredacted VIN or title files inside controlled diligence.
1. Define the buyer’s target population
A useful auto or BHPH buy box states the product, origination or vintage range, performing and delinquent mix, geography, account or balance range, collateral profile, servicing requirements, and exclusions. It should also state the cutoff date and what the balance fields mean.
The Auto Loan Portfolio Buyers hub owns the broad buyer mandate. This article supports only the narrower question of tape and collateral preparation.
2. Build stable tape fields
Typical review groups include stable account identifiers, product and origination fields, principal and current balance definitions, payment and delinquency history, default or charge-off status, modifications, servicing assignment, and recovery-stage fields. Each field needs a definition, source, format, cutoff, and treatment for blank, zero, unknown, or not applicable.
| Area | Buyer question |
|---|---|
| Performance | Do payments, delinquency, modifications, and balances reconcile? |
| Collateral | Can the vehicle and current status be matched to the account? |
| Title and lien | Are title, lienholder, jurisdiction, and release exceptions visible? |
| Servicing | Who boards, collects, handles complaints, and manages transfers? |
3. Organize collateral and title evidence
Controlled diligence may include vehicle identifiers, year, make, model, mileage where available, location, condition or valuation source, repossession status, disposition records, title status, lien position, and release or perfection exceptions. Keep observed records separate from estimates and do not treat a vehicle field as proof of value or recovery.
4. Control privacy and exceptions
Reconcile tape totals to source systems, maintain an exception log, and stage sensitive material through an approved data room. The initial form should contain business-level criteria only—not Social Security numbers, account numbers, VIN lists, title files, or unredacted tapes.
5. State the buyer mandate clearly
Qualified buyers should state target asset, geography, size, performance, collateral, capital source, servicing model, diligence capacity, approval authority, and timing. A clear mandate helps Fitzgerald assess fit without presenting public inventory or promising a price, recovery, or closing.
Questions buyers and sellers ask
What is a loan tape in finance?
A loan tape is a structured file that summarizes account-level or loan-level information for review. For an auto or BHPH portfolio, a buyer may use it to examine balances, payment status, delinquency, collateral, title and lien context, servicing, and documented exceptions before requesting controlled diligence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should an auto buyer send first?
A business-level buy box covering asset type, geography, size, performance, collateral, capital, servicing, diligence, and timing. Detailed borrower-level records should wait for controlled diligence.
Is there one required auto-loan tape format?
No. Requirements vary by buyer, product, servicing model, and transaction. Define fields and reconcile them to source records rather than relying on a universal template.
Submit an auto or BHPH buyer mandate
Describe the asset type, target geography, approximate account or balance range, performance and collateral preferences, capital source, servicing model, diligence capacity, approval authority, and timing.
Confidential review form
Educational disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal, tax, accounting, investment, lending, servicing, collection, or transaction-specific advice. Requirements vary by asset, party, and jurisdiction. No price, recovery, return, buyer, or closing outcome is guaranteed.