Auto Finance News | The News That Drives the Industry

Credit Performance

Ally Financial scores investment-grade rating

Honda Finance injects $1B into ABS market

Lenders dip down credit spectrum, boost originations in 2Q

Ally Financial scores investment-grade rating

Ally Financial’s long-term default rating has reached investment-grade status after an upgrade by Fitch Ratings, thanks to a boost in profitability stemming from increased used-car originations. The upgrade is a plus for Ally since investment-grade paper is typically in higher demand by investors, Michael Taiano, senior director of the Financial Institutions Group at Fitch Ratings, […]

Honda Finance injects $1B into ABS market

Loans in American Honda Finance Corp.‘s latest securitization have the shortest original and remaining terms when compared with other issuers’ pools, according to a Moody’s Investor Services presale report. The $1.1 billion securitization is on track to be upsized to $1.3 billion based on investor demand. Read more: American Honda Finance Dodges Class-Action Lawsuit The loans backing […]

Lenders dip down credit spectrum, boost originations in 2Q

As auto lenders opened their books of business to borrowers further down the credit spectrum, total auto debt increased 4.8% year over year to a record $1.3 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report, which uses data from Equifax, showed that auto debt from loans […]

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Capital Markets

Honda Finance injects $1B into ABS market

American Credit Acceptance adds collectors as originations climb

Fair eyes new debt funding

Losses widen for rideshare giants in 2Q

Fewer loan modifications pushes up losses in Santander’s latest ABS deal

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From Auto Finance Excellence

Financial institutions drop the ball on diversity

5 strategies to beef up cybersecurity

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Canadian police bust fraud scheme

A scheme racking up C$800,000 ($600,968) in fraudulent auto loans has been busted after a yearlong investigation. Canada’s Calgary Police Service discovered that two perpetrators had been using stolen identities to obtain financing for vehicles. The victims of identity theft were held responsible for the vehicle loans taken out in their names. After obtaining vehicles, the […]

Nicole Casperson
August 23, 2019
Risk Management

PenFed curbs canceled apps by increasing call volume

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is decreasing the number of canceled and withdrawn auto loan application thanks to a redirected focus on post-approval communication. The number of canceled and withdrawn applications is 40% less than what it’d typically be in any given month since jumpstarting the new initiative in the first quarter, Ivan McBride, vice president […]

Bianca Chan
August 23, 2019
Customer Experience, Exclusive, Sales & Marketing

Tricolor adds human touch to innovation

Tricolor Auto Acceptance adds a personal touch to its innovation initiatives when working on new products, President and Chief Operating Officer Don Goin told Auto Finance News. “When we’re working on new products, we use a customer-centric design thinking concept, which includes feedback from customers,” Goin said. Specifically, Tricolor employs a focus group approach when […]

Joey Pizzolato
August 23, 2019
Customer Experience, Innovation & Technology, Sales & Marketing

Platinum Auto Finance plans 8-state expansion

Platinum Auto Finance is leveraging a newly secured $100 million warehouse credit facility to nearly double its lending footprint, company Vice President John Kitchens told Auto Finance News. “We want to stay in the eastern portion of the U.S. for now,” Kitchens said. Specifically, the Clearwater, Fla.-based lender is eyeing Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania […]

Nicole Casperson
August 22, 2019
Exclusive, Operations

NJ AG steps up auto enforcement

The New Jersey Attorney General’s office has reached settlements with two dealership groups engaged in alleged consumer fraud, according to an announcement. Auto Mall 46, which does business under 10 dealership names, agreed to pay $219,927 in civil penalties for altering the price on sales and lease documents to an amount other than what was […]

Joey Pizzolato
August 22, 2019
Compliance & Regulation, Risk Management

GM Financial eyes AI for remarketing

GM Financial is leveraging artificial learning and advanced analytics to price off-lease inventory and optimize dealers' ability to sell those vehicles, Executive Vice President of Customer Experience Bob Beatty told Auto Finance News. Some of the questions GM Financial is tackling are: “What inventory should they buy and how much should they sell it for? […]

Bianca Chan
August 22, 2019
Customer Experience, Exclusive, Innovation & Technology, Sales & Marketing

PenFed scales back balloon financing rollout

A residual based financing program that was anticipated to boost Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s balloon financing volume tenfold is ramping up slower than originally planned. “Maybe we overestimated a little bit what market acceptance would look like right away,” said Ivan McBride, PenFed's vice president of automotive lending products and sales. “It hasn’t ramped up […]

Bianca Chan
August 21, 2019
Customer Experience, Exclusive, Sales & Marketing

Ally Financial scores investment-grade rating

Nicole Casperson
August 21, 2019
Archives, Credit Performance

Compliance considerations when buying and selling customer leads

As an auto lender, you’re likely aware of the due diligence required when purchasing consumer leads. Lenders must exercise the same diligence when referring — or selling — declined leads downstream. Purchasing customer leads via referral programs has adapted as technology has allowed online lenders to communicate instantaneously with potential customers. Due to the nature […]

An inside look at 2 new credit scoring models

Ever since the concept of loaning money was conceived, lenders have been trying to find the ideal way to predict who will pay them back and who will default. Over time, methods for evaluating the likelihood of borrower repayment progressed from individual human judgment calls to more objective credit bureaus and reports. Today, scores often […]

Tech Partnerships Help Drive Digital Transformation in Auto Finance

Aclaro, a company that develops tools for companies in the automotive industry, recently announced game-changing news that validates its mission of helping small, scrappy dealerships compete with larger competitors. As part of its efforts to deliver five-star service for its clients, Aclaro joined the Microsoft Partner Network, allowing the company to continue building its business […]

How Lenders Should Leverage the Power and Promise of Artificial Intelligence

Technology does not wait for rules or regulations. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no exception. The potential profit associated with fintech speeds up innovation, but it also increases the risk of implementing machine intelligence without assessing potential hazards. Simply put, we do not understand how some machines solve problems with deep learning algorithms. This risk can […]

How to Leverage Current Machine Learning and AI Tools in Auto Lending

Auto dealers have heard the hype about how machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are going to transform their businesses. Typically, there are usually two binary outcomes that are discussed. On one hand, the promise of the future seems so bright. Instead of relying on intuition and gut feeling, many divisions of their businesses […]

The Value of User Experience When Managing Risk

Much has been written about the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence and how it will impact the auto lending industry. While there has been a significant amount of hype, the promise of artificial intelligence is simply game changing. The most obvious application is that thinking machines will be able to assess risk and […]

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