CFPB eyes auto loan servicing amid pandemic

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has auto loan servicing on its radar as a top risk area in its “prioritized assessments,” said Bryan Schneider, associate director of supervision, enforcement and fair lending, during CBA Live this week.

Prioritized assessments are targeted examinations on the products, services and customers “most at risk” as a result of the COVID-19 economic crisis.

Prioritized assessments differ from the Bureau’s traditional assessments, Schneider said. While traditional examinations are meant to obtain detailed facts to determine whether violations have occurred, prioritized assessments are instead “designed to assess risk of violations and consumer harm, thus identifying whether more in-depth supervisory work may be necessary.”

Still, findings from prioritized assessments may inform future regulatory considerations for the Bureau, Schneider said, although he noted the Bureau was “really not that far along with our PA work to report on anything in this vein.”

The CFPB’s focus on its prioritized assessments has pushed back its normal supervisory examinations, Schneider said. “I think the Bureau rescheduled about half of its exams for the third quarter of 2020, and instead, we conducted prioritized assessments,” he said, noting that the Bureau will continue to conduct examinations in the fourth quarter.

The Bureau plans to publish supervisory guidance and bulletins, Schneider said. “It’s possible that you might see a future edition of supervisory highlights committed to this topic, or a blog post or some other appropriate communication to share key, but anonymous, observations from its prioritized assessment work.”

Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event, returns October 20-22, 2020, as a virtual experience. The virtual experience will offer the quality networking and education of past events, all through an online platform. To learn more about the 2020 event and register, visit www.AutoFinanceSummit.com.