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Auto Finance Accelerate 2019

Startup Bloom Pilots Blockchain Tech With Several Captives

4 Things Lenders Should Know to Mitigate TCPA Risk

Carvana Turns to AI For Customer Support

Startup Bloom Pilots Blockchain Tech With Several Captives

SAN DIEGO — Bloom, a blockchain-enabled platform that allows customers to choose what personal data to share with lenders, is piloting its technology with several captives, Founder and Chief Executive Jesse Leimgruber told Auto Finance News at the Auto Finance Innovation Summit last week. Bloom was the winner of the event’s annual “DEMOvation Challenge.” At the heart of Bloom’s design is BloomID, […]

4 Things Lenders Should Know to Mitigate TCPA Risk

SAN DIEGO – One question Buckley LLP Partner John Redding often hears from his auto lender clients is: What is the status the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? “The state of TCPA is a complete mess, let’s not kid ourselves,” was his answer last week at the Auto Finance Risk Summit during a presentation titled “TCPA […]

Carvana Turns to AI For Customer Support

SAN DIEGO — Carvana is integrating a conversational artificial intelligence platform into its customer support channels, Christina Keiser, vice president of strategy, said at the Auto Finance Sales and Marketing Summit last week. Propel.AI, which Carvana bought last year, is in the early stages of testing. “We think the human touch is important,” Keiser said. […]

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Credit Performance

Auto Finance Summit 2019 Registration Opens With New Agenda

Ford Motor Credit Posts Highest Earnings Since 2010

Loan Losses Are Worse Than Expected at Two Subprime Auto Lenders

Auto Finance Summit 2019 Registration Opens With New Agenda

Auto Finance News is proud to announce that the Auto Finance Summit 2019 registration and agenda are now available on AutoFinanceSummit.com. The 19th annual event will take place October 28-30 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Registration can be submitted here. It’s a revolutionary time for auto finance, as technological innovations are making waves in the industry. Meanwhile, lenders are working to stay ahead […]

Ford Motor Credit Posts Highest Earnings Since 2010

Ford Motor Credit earned $801 million before taxes in the first quarter, notching a 25% year-over-year increase and the captive’s best results in nine years. “Ford Credit benefited from lower depreciation on vehicles in our leased portfolio and improvement in credit loss reserves, reflecting continued strength in consumer credit metrics,” said Bob Shanks, chief financial […]

Loan Losses Are Worse Than Expected at Two Subprime Auto Lenders

Recent subprime-auto bonds from Prestige Financial Corp. and Exeter Finance Corp. are performing worse than anticipated, at a time when many competitors are at least meeting expectations, according to credit raters. The challenges both face may be remnants of a push for rapid growth a few years back, when these smaller lenders temporarily loosened credit […]

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Capital Markets

Fidelity Bank Exits Indirect Auto

Fidelity Bank is shuttering its indirect auto business after nearly 30 years, Auto Finance News has learned. "Effective May 15, 2019, Fidelity Bank will cease indirect auto originations," according to a fax distributed to dealers in Florida and Georgia, the two remaining states in the bank's dwindling auto finance footprint. "Contracts dated May 15, 2019, […]

Outstandings Hit Record Despite Slowing Growth, New Big Wheels Report Shows

China Announces Tariff Retaliation to Take Effect on June 1

Uber’s Conservative IPO Valuation Faces First Public Market Test

Ford Motor Credit Posts Highest Earnings Since 2010

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From Auto Finance Excellence

Compliance Complexities Lenders Should Know About E-Contracting

Tricolor Uses Innovation, Technology to Drive Customer Experience

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Auto Finance Summit 2019 Registration Opens With New Agenda

Nicole Casperson
May 23, 2019
Compliance, Credit Performance, Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Risk, Sales & Marketing, Technology

Insurer Offers Cash Back Incentive for Chrysler, Hyundai Purchases

Amica Mutual Insurance is offering a new incentive for purchasing or leasing new Chrysler and Hyundai Motor vehicles, Auto Finance News has learned. The Rhode Island-based insurance company’s incentive is called BonusDrive, which allows customers to get a cash back bonus of up to $500. However, the offer only applies to the purchase or lease […]

Nicole Casperson
May 23, 2019
Sales & Marketing

Startup Bloom Pilots Blockchain Tech With Several Captives

Joey Pizzolato
May 23, 2019
Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Innovation & Mobility, Technology

4 Things Lenders Should Know to Mitigate TCPA Risk

Bianca Chan
May 22, 2019
Archives, Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Compliance, Operations, Risk

Sparking Connections: How Tech Alliances Are Firing Up Lenders

Slowing vehicle sales and the potential for a market downturn have lit a spark among lenders, technology companies, and OEMs, igniting partnerships aimed at gaining marketshare and creating solutions attainable only by way of collaboration. In January, Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG established an alliance that will likely spur the OEMs’ captives to collaborate […]

Nicole Casperson and Joey Pizzolato
May 22, 2019
Features, Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

HCA, Flexdrive Partner for New Mobility Venture

Hyundai Capital America has partnered with mobility subscription services platform Flexdrive — after nearly a year of discussions — to support the development of alternatives to the traditional vehicle-ownership model, Andrew Leone, vice president of commercial credit and risk at Hyundai Capital America, told Auto Finance News. “If you think about this topic of mobility, […]

Joey Pizzolato
May 22, 2019
Operations, Strategy

General Motors Scales Back Car-Sharing Service Maven

General Motors Co. reportedly is scaling back its car-sharing service, Maven, by stopping the service in eight markets after launching more than three years ago. A GM spokeswoman confirmed the OEM plans to shut down the service in major markets like Chicago and Boston "within the next few months," the Wall Street Journal reported. However, Maven will […]

Nicole Casperson
May 21, 2019
Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy

Carvana Turns to AI For Customer Support

Joey Pizzolato
May 21, 2019
Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Innovation & Mobility, Strategy, Technology

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 […]

The Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Auto Lending

We are inundated with discussion about how new technologies promise to change the way that we do business and live our lives. Yes, many of these proclamations offer rhetorical flourish and grand visions. That said, there are new technologies available and startups that are maximizing these technologies to transform the auto industry — even today. […]

How Lenders’ Response Time Influences Dealer Relationships

Automotive OEMs rate vehicle performance by the time it takes to go from zero to 60 in seconds. This is a measure of energy conversion – fuel, spark, movement. While this is a mechanical situation, a comparison can be made to business response times. While fuel is a potential auto loan customer, the spark is […]

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