Auto Finance

Auto lending is a dynamic market second only to housing in size, with nearly $900 billion in outstanding auto loan balances. Banks hold approximately a third of all auto loan balances, followed closely by captive auto lenders, credit unions and auto finance companies. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB has the authority to supervise all depository institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. However, the Bureau has also been granted the authority to supervise “larger participants” in consumer financial markets. The CFPB exercised this authority by issuing a rulemaking proposal to extend its supervisory reach over nonbank auto lenders, such as the captives and auto finance companies. CBA is largely supportive of this effort as consumers should expect to receive the same level of protection no matter where they receive their auto loans.
  • April 1, 2015
    When asked which banking product should "die," during a CBA Live debate titled Banking: Live and Let Die , Camden Fine, president and chief executive of Independent Community Bankers of America, answered "long-term, fixed rate loans," adding that 60-month auto loans are too long.
  • March 31, 2015
    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a 'moral obligation' to respond to a study that found its methodology to determine disparate impact in an auto lender's portfolio to be flawed, said Michael Benoit, partner at Hudson Cook LLP, during a CBA Live 2015 session last week.
  • March 31, 2015
    Almost half of all Uber drivers are working only to pay their car loans, according to Gus Fuldner, head of insurance at Uber Technologies, who spoke at CBA LIVE last week. More specifically, "49% of Uber drivers work for the company for only as many hours as it takes to make their car payment, and that's enough for the month," Fuldner said.
  • March 25, 2015
    Subprime auto lending has surfaced as a top priority for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency's No. 2 warned on Wednesday. Speaking to an industry conference, CFPB Deputy Director Steven Antonakes also said that the agency was open to making changes to its complaint portal, which the regulator recently said would allow consumers to post detailed narratives of their problems with...
  • March 25, 2015
    A shift in consumer behavior is coming for both auto lenders and dealers when dealing with car shoppers in the near future, according to Monica Orluk, director of sales engineering for Fiserv, and Peter Kidd, senior vice president of consumer auto business at Fifth Third Bank. The two spoke at the Consumer Bankers Association Live 2015 conference Tuesday in Orlando, Fl. Many consumers are...
  • February 25, 2015
    A letter sent last week by the American Financial Services Association and other trade associations to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was aimed at prodding the CFPB to publicly respond to a study AFSA commissioned last year. “There certainly has been more than enough time for them to address some of the issues,” Chris Stinebert, CEO of AFSA, told Automotive...
  • February 20, 2015
    CFPB Issues Report on Free Access to Credit Scores On Thursday, February 19, 2015, the CFPB released a study on how consumers access their credit scores and credit reports. The study found about 50 million consumers now have free and regular access to their credit scores through their monthly credit cards statements or online. The report also highlighted some difficulties consumers may have in...
  • February 19, 2015
    Five prominent industry trade groups sent a letter to the CFPB yesterday seeking “to engage the CFPB in a constructive dialogue” on the study of indirect auto financing commissioned by the American Financial Services Association. The study, which was conducted by Charles River Associates, found that the CFPB’s proxy methodology for measuring disparities in auto dealer reserve was “conceptually...
  • February 18, 2015
    A coalition representing auto lenders says a federal agency should admit it is wrong. The group in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asks it to address its alleged bias and error in an analysis it uses to determine whether disparate impact, or unintentional discrimination, exists in a lender’s portfolio. The coalition says the methodology is flawed, yet the bureau keeps relying...
  • February 18, 2015
    February 18, 2015 The Hon. Richard Cordray Director Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1700 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20552 Dear Director Cordray: The vehicle finance industry is committed to fair lending and equal treatment for every consumer. Illegal discrimination in any form is unacceptable, and we welcome the opportunity to work with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or...

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