Auto Finance News | The News That Drives the Industry

Auto Finance Accelerate 2019

Bank of America Expects Direct Volume to Match Indirect Within 5 Years

AI Startup Helps BMW Financial Scale Call Center With Chatbots

Tricolor Uses Innovation, Technology to Drive Customer Experience

Bank of America Expects Direct Volume to Match Indirect Within 5 Years

SAN DIEGO — Bank of America‘s direct loan portfolio may catch up with its indirect portfolio as soon as 2022, Duane Freeman, senior vice president of consumer vehicle lending and national sales executive, predicted during a panel discussion at the inaugural Auto Finance Sales & Marketing Summit on Monday. “We do see a future within the […]

AI Startup Helps BMW Financial Scale Call Center With Chatbots

SAN DIEGO — BMW Financial Services will have automated “digital assistants” added to its call center capabilities by the third quarter, thanks to a partnership with startup CarLabs.AI, the tech company’s Chief Executive Martin Schmitt said at the Auto Finance Innovation Summit Wednesday. CarLabs is a company that delivers AI-powered digital assistants for automotive brands. It started […]

Tricolor Uses Innovation, Technology to Drive Customer Experience

At Tricolor Auto Acceptance, technology drives the goal of delivering seamless, sustainable financial products across dealerships and digital channels, President and Chief Operating Officer Don Goin told Auto Finance Excellence. “Our business strategy is hyper-focused on the customer experience relative to financial inclusion,” Goin said. “Part of this strategy is the prioritization of product development […]

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Credit Performance

Ford Motor Credit Posts Highest Earnings Since 2010

Loan Losses Are Worse Than Expected at Two Subprime Auto Lenders

KBRA Downgrades Honor Finance Securitization — Again

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 […]

KBRA Downgrades Honor Finance Securitization — Again

Honor Finance’s 2016 asset-backed securitization has been downgraded for a second time by Kroll Bond Rating Agency due to cumulative net losses increasing to 31.2% compared with 29.4% over three collection periods, the rating agency reported April 25. The now-defunct subprime lender’s Class B notes were downgraded to B+ from BB+, and its Class C […]

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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

Tricolor Uses Innovation, Technology to Drive Customer Experience

Fidelity Bank Exits Indirect Auto

Joey Pizzolato
May 16, 2019
Capital Markets, Operations, Strategy

Tricolor’s Machine Learning Tech Is Reducing Its Reconditioning Costs

SAN DIEGO — The machine-learning technology deployed by Tricolor Auto Acceptance has cut its vehicle reconditioning costs, Chief Executive Daniel Chu said during the Auto Finance Innovation Summit here on Wednesday. Tricolor provides the reconditioning centers that service its chain of retail dealerships with technology that determines the most cost-effective source of car parts. The […]

Nicole Casperson
May 16, 2019
Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Strategy, Technology

Mobility Matters in the Auto Lending Process

The volume and variety of innovative commerce transactions available on mobile devices continues to grow. Younger generations — millennials and Generation Z — live with mobile devices. The gradual adoption of 5G networks will substantially enhance the speed and functionality of all things mobile — along with higher expectations from millions of users. To remain […]

Lana Johnson
May 16, 2019
Auto Finance Excellence, Features, Technology

Bloom Wins DEMOvation Challenge at Auto Finance Innovation Summit

SAN DIEGO — Bloom, a decentralized data security solution powered by blockchain, was crowned the winner of the third annual DEMOvation Challenge at the 2019 Auto Finance Innovation Summit, toppling six other startups. The DEMOvation Challenge offers fledgling startups the opportunity to showcase their technology in front of a wide audience of auto lending and […]

Joey Pizzolato
May 15, 2019
Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Innovation & Mobility, Technology

Australian Startup Eyes Foray Into U.S. Market

SAN DIEGO — CarDeals2Me, an Australian startup that provides car buyers with a price quote that expires within 24 hours, is looking to enter the American market — once it secures a lender partner. “We’re grazing around to hit the U.S. market,” said Chief Executive Shaun Sumaru during the Auto Finance Innovation Summit here today. […]

Bianca Chan
May 15, 2019
Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Innovation & Mobility, Sales & Marketing, 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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