CFPB Deputy Director Steve Antonakes offered two hints of what’s coming down the pike for auto lenders, though both were vague, at best.
Antonakes, who spoke this morning at the CBA Live conference in place of CFPB Director Richard Cordray, spoke generally about the agency’s complaint portal and exam process, financial literacy, and recent debt collection and mortgage efforts. His main comments about auto finance related to credit score availability and the agency’s intended oversight of nonbank auto lenders, like captives.
Back in February, the CFPB urged credit card companies to make credit scores and related content freely available to customers. This morning, Antonakes said: “We see no reason why it shouldn’t be expanded into other areas,” including auto loans.
As for the ruling on nonbank players, in the works since 2012, all Antonakes would say was: “We will be moving forward with our proposal to encompass larger nonbank lenders in the space.”
In a later session, former CFPB official Richard Hackett suggested that the ruling would come “sooner, rather than later.” When pressed for a more specific timeframe, he joked: “Soon ― in government time.”
