U.S. consumers are more devoted to their mobile phones thantheir automobiles.

The sea change has taken place over the last few years as mobiledevices become an integral tool not just for communication withloved ones or employers, but also everything from banking to datingto watching TV and listening to music. As cars grow relatively lessimportant, borrowers struggling to pay back their loans on time areincreasingly prioritizing payments on the latest iPhone instead ofmaking sure they hold on to their pickup or coupe.

The shift is increasing the attractiveness of bonds generatedfrom mobile-phone loans, a small but growing portion of theasset-backed securities market. While just $7.7 billion of bondsbacked by phone purchases have been issued since 2016 — and all byVerizon Communications Inc. — the number may increase over comingyears.