Bank of America slips further behind Capital One for auto loans

One quarter after overtaking Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corp. extended its lead over the Charlotte-based bank in a first-quarter ranking of the U.S.'s largest depository auto lenders.

The ranking, released by SNL Financial, shows McLean, Va.-based Capital One, the parent company of Capital One Bank, grew its auto loans to $27.9 billion in the first quarter, up 3 percent from the fourth quarter.

That enabled Capital One to stay in fourth place and keep Charlotte-based Bank of America locked in fifth place.

Bank of America increased its loans by 0.72 percent over the same period, to $26.8 billion from $26.6 billion.

Capital One knocked Bank of America to fifth place in the fourth quarter, when Capital One's auto loans increased 2.6 percent from the third quarter.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo retained its No. 2 spot in the first quarter, with $47.2 billion in loans, up 2.7 percent from the fourth quarter.

Wells Fargo needs at least $13 billion more in loans to catch up with first place Ally Financial.

Ally, based in New York, was No. 1 in the first quarter, unchanged from the fourth quarter. Ally had $60.4 billion in auto loans in the first quarter, down 6.7 percent from $64.7 billion in the fourth quarter.