Asset-Backed Securities Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Asset-Backed Securities Market Trends and Insights

Robust Investor Demand for Yield and Diversification

The asset-backed securities market continued to benefit from institutional demand as investors sought spread income beyond conventional government and corporate fixed-income instruments. February 2026 ABS issuance reached USD 36.9 billion, well above the prior three-year February average of USD 23.8 billion, indicating that investor demand absorbed supply despite seasonal constraints. Demand was broad across subprime auto, personal loans, solar ABS, aircraft loan and lease pools, and digital infrastructure, which reduced reliance on any single collateral segment. The Federal Reserve’s Flow of Funds data also showed that ABS issuers’ net financial asset acquisitions climbed from USD 129.3 billion in 2024 to USD 194.0 billion in 2025, pointing to deeper and more persistent capital allocation into structured credit vehicles^{[1]Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “F.127 Issuers of Asset-Backed Securities (ABS),” Financial Accounts of the United States, federalreserve.gov}. This demand profile has helped keep spreads tight on investment-grade tranches and has reinforced the place of the asset-backed securities market in liability-matched portfolios. A wider investor base, now including insurance general accounts and sovereign investors, should keep the asset-backed securities market supported, even if individual collateral categories experience periods of uneven performance.

Growth in Non-Bank Lending Pipelines

The asset-backed securities market is drawing more collateral from non-bank originators because these lenders lack deposit funding and must rely more heavily on capital markets execution to scale. India’s securitization market reached INR 2.55 lakh crore, or approximately USD 30.6 billion, in FY2026, and NBFC originations rose 30% year over year, which offset a sharp decline in bank-led originations. In Australia, non-bank lenders also strengthened their role, with 42 public ABS deals totaling AUD 23.1 billion (USD 15.48 billion) in 2025, up from 38 deals totaling AUD 18.5 billion (12.40 billion) in 2024. In the United States, unsecured consumer loan ABS issuance reached a record USD 25.6 billion in 2025, up 54% from USD 16.6 billion in 2024, reflecting the growing role of fintech and marketplace lenders in generating securitizable loan pools^{[2]Fitch Ratings, “Unsecured Consumer Loan ABS Issuance Sets Records in 2025,” Asset Securitization Report, americanbanker.com}. This expansion matters for the asset-backed securities market because it not only increases issuance volume but also widens the collateral base and brings in issuers that operate outside traditional bank origination channels.

Expansion of Green and Sustainable Securitization

The asset-backed securities market is also widening through green and sustainability-linked structures that now extend beyond renewable energy receivables into digital and battery-related infrastructure. Combined data center ABS and CMBS issuance reached USD 26 billion in 2025, more than 10 times the 2020 level, underscoring how quickly labeled infrastructure pools entered structured finance channels. Switch completed its fifth ABS issuance since 2024 in April 2026 and raised USD 768 million in AAA-rated Series 2026-1 notes, bringing its total ABS issuance since 2024 to approximately USD 4.2 billion under its Green Financing Framework^{[3]Switch, “Switch Raises 768 Million in Latest Data Center ABS Issuance,” Switch, switch.com}. Mirattery, the battery asset operator for NIO Inc., also issued a new green ABS tranche in June 2026 under a CNY 3 billion, or approximately USD 443 million, shelf registration, which broadened the use of securitization in the electric vehicle ecosystem. As these structures expand, collateral eligibility is becoming more closely tied to asset performance standards such as energy efficiency and battery certification, which should strengthen pool quality over time and help the asset-backed securities market attract a broader range of ESG-focused capital.

Issuance Migration Into Data Center and Infrastructure-Linked Collateral

The asset-backed securities market is seeing one of its clearest shifts in the growing use of data center and infrastructure-linked collateral. Data center and fiber network ABS combined for USD 7.4 billion in United States issuance in the first two months of 2026, more than double the USD 3.2 billion recorded in the same period of 2025, and full-year issuance is projected to exceed USD 40 billion. The use of master trust structures allows issuers to add new data center collateral over time without launching new transactions, reducing marginal issuance costs and supporting repeat program growth. This collateral also behaves differently from consumer pools because the cash flows are tied to long-term tenant contracts rather than household repayment cycles. Switch stated that 84% of revenue in its securitized pool came from investment-grade customers, which supports the view that this niche can act as a higher-quality structured credit alternative within the asset-backed securities market. The same pattern is now visible in music royalties and aviation structures, where recurring contracted cash flows are being isolated and priced more efficiently in public ABS markets.

Higher Regulatory Complexity Across Cross-Border Structures

The asset-backed securities market faces a significant restraint due to the growing complexity of cross-border compliance and reporting rules. The SEC’s 2025 concept release on ABS disclosures sought market input on expanded asset-level disclosures for registered ABS, which signaled that compliance expectations may rise further for public transactions^{[4]U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Concept Release on Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Disclosures and Enhancements to Asset-Backed Securities Registration,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, sec.gov}. In Europe, the June 2025 proposal to amend the EU Securitization Regulation introduced reporting requirements that increase the burden on non-EU originators seeking European capital, especially when transactions must align with EU-prescribed templates. This matters because smaller or first-time issuers usually lack the reporting infrastructure that larger sponsors already maintain, which can raise structuring costs and narrow investor access. Over time, supervisory clarity may improve market consistency, but in the medium term, the asset-backed securities market is likely to see higher friction for cross-border deals than for domestic issuances.

Credit Deterioration in Subprime Consumer Collateral

The asset-backed securities market also faces pressure from weaker credit performance in subprime consumer collateral, especially in auto ABS. Fitch reported that the 60-day subprime auto delinquency index reached 6.90% in January 2026, the highest level in more than 30 years of tracking, while annualized net losses reached 9.63% at the end of 2025. The IMF’s October 2025 United States ABS Monitor also showed that 30-day-plus subprime auto delinquencies rose to 16% as of September 2025, while prime auto performance remained far lower at 1.9%. The pressure is not limited to delinquency levels because older vehicle collateral can push loss severity higher even if defaults stabilize. The Federal Reserve noted that auto loan delinquency rates resumed their upward trend in the third quarter of 2025, suggesting that collateral selection and vintage quality will remain central to performance differences across the asset-backed securities market.

*Our forecasts treat driver/restraint impacts as directional, not additive. The impact forecasts reflect baseline growth, mix effects, and variable interactions.

Segment Analysis

By Underlying Asset: Auto ABS Anchors Market, Niche Collateral Accelerates

Auto loan and lease ABS accounted for 36.57% of the asset-backed securities market in 2025, reflecting its deep origination base, liquid secondary trading, and broad investor familiarity with collateral performance across prime and subprime tiers. Toyota Motor Credit, Ford Motor Credit, and Ally Financial continued to support this leadership through repeat issuance programs, and Ally returned with a USD 1.1 billion prime auto ABS backed by 59,907 receivables during 2025 and 2026 issuance activity. Credit card ABS faced a temporary pause in early 2026 after the proposed 10% APR cap created uncertainty, but Synchrony Financial returned with a USD 500 million transaction in March 2026, indicating that issuer access remained intact after the brief interruption. Student loan ABS continued to face policy-related constraints amid uncertainty around federal loan programs, while equipment lease and loan ABS remained important for mid-market manufacturing and technology lessors seeking capital-efficient funding. Consumer and personal loan ABS recorded especially strong momentum in 2025, with unsecured consumer loan ABS issuance rising to a record USD 25.6 billion, up 54% from 2024, underscoring the growing role of fintech-originated receivables in the asset-backed securities industry.

Other or niche ABS is projected to grow at 8.89% CAGR from 2026 to 2031, making it the fastest-growing underlying asset segment in the asset-backed securities market. This category includes data center receivables, aircraft leases, music royalties, and franchise loans, all of which are benefiting from stronger investor acceptance of contracted and recurring cash flow structures. Data center and fiber network ABS reached USD 7.4 billion in the United States issuance in the first two months of 2026 alone, which indicated that infrastructure pools are moving into a more programmatic part of the asset-backed securities industry. Apollo’s USD 1.765 billion Concord music catalog ABS in July 2025 and its USD 500 million Chord Music Partners transaction in April 2026 showed that royalty-backed structures are no longer isolated deals and are being placed with stronger investor conviction. Aviation-linked ABS also became more repeatable, as Apollo affiliate PK AirFinance completed USD 2 billion in cumulative aircraft loan ABS issuance between July 2024 and May 2025, which helped lower execution risk for investors evaluating non-traditional collateral.

By Issuer Type: Banks Retain Scale Advantage While Non-Banks Accelerate

Bank-sponsored and financial institution-led transactions accounted for 57.42% of the asset-backed securities market in 2025, keeping banks in the leading position by issuer type. That lead was supported by deep investor relationships, stronger balance sheet credibility, and better ability to structure credit enhancements that satisfy rating agency and investor requirements at competitive cost. Captive finance companies remained an important middle layer in the asset-backed securities market, especially in auto ABS, where automotive subsidiaries such as Toyota Motor Credit and Ford Motor Credit continued to issue through well-established trust programs. The broader corporate originator category also expanded into niche areas, including franchise loan structures, utility receivables, and subscription-linked cash flow pools. This issuer mix shows that the asset-backed securities market still relies heavily on institutions with durable capital-market access, even as new origination channels continue to broaden the field.

Specialty finance and non-bank lenders are projected to grow at 7.92% CAGR from 2026 to 2031, making them the fastest-growing issuer category in the asset-backed securities market. Their expansion is tied to a simple funding reality, since lenders without deposits must securitize to scale and often move faster than banks in newer collateral pools. Pagaya Technologies closed approximately USD 3 billion in personal loan ABS transactions year to date through May 2026 across 4 deals, each of which was upsized above the initial target and supported by a network of more than 165 institutional investors. The growth path for this issuer group is also supported by the expanding interest of the United States credit unions in securitization, which points to a broader base of future non-bank sponsors across consumer, auto, and small-business lending. Over the forecast period, the asset-backed securities market is likely to see banks defend core categories while non-banks expand more quickly in receivables tied to AI-enabled lending, royalty streams, EV battery assets, and digital infrastructure.

Geography Analysis

North America accounted for 68.79% of the asset-backed securities market in 2025, maintaining its position as the clear regional leader. The region’s scale rests on the deep United States securitization infrastructure, a mature investor base, durable disclosure norms, and long-standing legal precedent on bankruptcy-remote special-purpose vehicles. Kroll Bond Rating Agency projected United States ABS new issuance at approximately USD 385.2 billion in 2026, up 5% from 2025, indicating that the asset-backed securities market in the region still has volume momentum. Canada continued to contribute institutional-quality auto and residential collateral, while Mexico and South America remained earlier-stage ABS markets outside a deeper Brazilian domestic framework. A further advantage for North America is execution speed, as AI-enabled platforms are shortening the time between origination and issuance and reinforcing the region’s leadership in the asset-backed securities market.

Europe remained active in 2025 and 2026, with issuance moving above post-global financial crisis records and the region working to narrow its long-standing gap with the United States. Regulatory reform was central to that effort, as the June 2025 amendment proposal to the EU Securitization Regulation sought to streamline due diligence and simplify parts of the STS framework for market participants. This direction matters because the asset-backed securities market in Europe has historically been constrained as much by process burden as by investor appetite. Spain was one of the more active national markets during 2025 and 2026, and new transactions from auto lenders in Poland and Islamic finance originators in the United Kingdom widened collateral diversity. Data center securitization also began to gain traction in Europe following earlier United Kingdom and German transactions, signaling broader convergence between digital infrastructure funding and the asset-backed securities market.

Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at 8.47% CAGR from 2026 to 2031, making it the fastest-growing regional segment in the asset-backed securities market. China recorded 2,435 new asset securitization transactions in 2025 with total issuance of CNY 2.33 trillion, while corporate ABS remained the dominant structure in the market’s product mix. India’s FY2026 securitization volume reached approximately USD 30.6 billion, and the originator base expanded to more than 190 participants, which showed that market depth is improving alongside scale. Australia is also becoming more important, with non-banks representing the majority of issuers, and total public issuance is expected to remain in the AUD 75 billion to AUD 80 billion range in 2026, while the country is also poised for its first data center securitization. Middle East and Africa remained at an earlier stage, but transactions such as Senelec’s 2025 utility receivables securitization in Senegal showed that the asset-backed securities market is gradually extending into frontier jurisdictions through more bespoke structures.