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Dateline: Pagaya Technologies, asset-backed securitization, 12 October 2026
Pagaya Technologies, the Nasdaq-listed AI lending network, said on 12 October 2026 that it had closed RPM 2026-5, a $650 million asset-backed securitization backed by auto loans and its 100th ABS deal since its first securitization in 2018. The deal lifts Pagaya ABS issuance to more than $10 billion in 2026 and more than $44 billion over the company’s lifetime, according to Pagaya’s release on BusinessWire.
Deal: RPM 2026-5, backed by auto loans, Pagaya’s 100th ABS dealInvestors: 35, including five new to the RPM shelf
What the 100th Pagaya ABS deal included
Thirty-five unique investors bought into RPM 2026-5, including five new to Pagaya’s RPM shelf, the program Pagaya uses for auto loan securitizations. Pagaya did not disclose pricing, tranche ratings or the credit mix of the collateral pool, which leaves the facts that matter most in a bond deal out of the announcement. The rating agency reports on the deal will carry that detail, and that is where investors will look.
Gal Krubiner, Pagaya’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company had spent eight years building a funding base of “long-term committed capital and diversified funding sources.” Pagaya also calls itself the primary ABS issuer of consumer unsecured loans in the US, though the release gives no number to back that up. For deal-by-deal updates, Pagaya points readers to the capital markets and investor pages on its own website.
How Pagaya funds the loans it approves
Pagaya does not originate loans itself. It runs underwriting models for partner lenders and approves applicants the partners would otherwise turn down. Pagaya-sponsored vehicles then buy those loans, and the vehicles are funded through securitizations and other facilities. The release lists three asset classes: personal loans, auto loans and point-of-sale loans.
That makes Pagaya ABS deals the company’s main funding line. Their cost and depth decide how much loan volume Pagaya can take from partners, and so how much fee revenue it earns from them. Plenty of companies can build a credit model. Far fewer can fund billions of dollars of the loans that model approves at a cost that leaves room for profit, and that funding is the harder part of Pagaya’s business to copy.
Auto loans are a newer line for Pagaya than personal loans, and they behave differently. The car is collateral, so losses on a default are usually lower than on an unsecured personal loan, but auto pools are sensitive to used-car prices, which set how much a lender recovers when it repossesses. A $650 million auto deal with 35 buyers suggests investors are comfortable with how Pagaya’s auto underwriting performed in its earlier RPM deals.
The 2026 record on the shelf
Fintechbits has tracked the program through 2026. In August, Pagaya priced a $900 million deal, its largest since 2022. On 1 October it set up a variable funding note with ATLAS SP Partners worth nearly $700 million for personal loans, a facility that does not rely on the bond market being open in any particular week.
The investor count is the most useful signal in this Pagaya ABS deal. Thirty-five buyers for a $650 million deal, five of them new to the shelf, suggests demand for Pagaya paper is spreading beyond a small group of repeat accounts. A wider base matters most when markets turn, because an issuer that depends on a handful of buyers can find the window shut as soon as those buyers step back.
Fintechbits analysis
Fintechbits analysis
Why the funding mix matters more than the 100th Pagaya ABS deal
A count of 100 deals shows that Pagaya issues often. It says nothing about whether the deals are getting cheaper or whether the collateral is holding up, and those are the two things that decide whether the business works. The more telling figure is the balance between securitizations and committed facilities. Pagaya ABS issuance depends on market conditions: when credit spreads widened sharply in 2022, issuers had to pay more to fund the same loans or cut volume.
Krubiner’s emphasis on “long-term committed capital” shows where Pagaya is heading. It has been adding funding that does not depend on the ABS window, including the ATLAS facility, so that a bad quarter in the bond market does not force it to stop buying loans from partners. That makes the business sturdier. It probably costs some margin and some flexibility, since committed facilities come with fees and terms that a one-off securitization does not.
My read is that more than $10 billion of Pagaya ABS issuance in 2026 shows the market is open to AI-underwritten consumer credit in a way it was not during the 2022 spread blowout. What nobody can see yet is how the collateral performs through a full credit cycle. The release does not address it, and only the monthly servicer reports on these trusts will.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pagaya’s RPM shelf?
RPM is the securitization program Pagaya uses for auto loans. RPM 2026-5, a $650 million deal announced on 12 October 2026, was Pagaya’s 100th ABS transaction across all its programs since 2018.
How much has Pagaya raised through ABS?
More than $44 billion of Pagaya ABS issuance since its first securitization in 2018, including more than $10 billion in 2026, according to Pagaya.
Does Pagaya make the loans itself?
No. Partner lenders originate the loans using Pagaya’s underwriting models, and Pagaya-sponsored vehicles buy them, funded through securitizations and other facilities.
What to Watch Next on Pagaya ABS Performance
The next data points are the rating agency reports on RPM 2026-5 and Pagaya’s third-quarter 2026 results, where management usually discusses funding costs and the share of volume financed through committed capital. Falling Pagaya ABS funding costs alongside a growing investor base would support the bull case. Rising delinquencies in the auto pools, especially if used-car prices weaken, would be the first sign that 2026 issuance ran ahead of underwriting.
Why this matters
Pagaya’s 100th securitization, a $650 million auto deal with 35 investors, takes its 2026 issuance above $10 billion and its lifetime total above $44 billion. Five buyers were new to the RPM shelf, which suggests the investor base is widening. The milestone says little about funding cost or credit quality, which the release leaves out. Pagaya is adding committed funding, such as its ATLAS facility, so that a closed ABS market does not force it to stop buying loans from partners.
Primary sources
Business Wire | PRESS RELEASE | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261012073893/en/Pagaya-Closes-100th-Asset-Backed-Securitization-with-New-%24650-Million-Auto-ABS-Deal
pagaya.com | COMPANY STATEMENT | https://pagaya.com/
