State Farm Bank Pays No Fine, Ordered to Adjust Practices After CFPB Settlement

State Farm Bank is not required to pay a civil penalty after settling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claims that it had allegedly violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act on some auto loan and credit card accounts. A Dec. 6 consent order alleged that State Farm reported inaccurate customer information to the credit bureaus and pulled […]

• Nicole Casperson
• December 14, 2018
• Compliance, Operations

Ally Financial Donates $50,000 to Its Dealership Communities

Yearend serves as a time for giving back, and one lender is doing its part. Ally Financial said it is donating about $50,000 to help dealership employees and communities affected by hurricanes, fires, floods and other hardships. “For those dealers who have weathered particularly challenging circumstances, some extra support can boost the wellbeing of their employees, […]

• Nicole Casperson
• December 14, 2018
• Auto Finance Excellence

European Purchase Positions KAR to Boost Auction Tech

KAR Auction Services’ plan to acquire Belgium-based counterpart CarsOnTheWeb (COTW) will position the U.S. company to compete in the international remarketing arena. It is also likely to spark technology enhancements for the combined entity, said Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Craig Kennison. The $103 million deal — slated to close in the first quarter […]

• Bianca Chan
• December 14, 2018
• Operations, Strategy, Technology

Westlake Financial to Roll Out Direct Lending Portal in 4 States

Westlake Financial Services is gearing up to expand its direct lending portal, LoanCenter, beyond its current California footprint. “Historically, we always pilot everything in our backyard,” VP of Westlake Services and Lending Solutions Ralph Ontiveros, told AFN. Now, nearly two years after launching the pilot, Westlake Financial is ready to take the portal nationwide. The rollout […]

• Bianca Chan
• December 13, 2018
• Archives, Innovation & Mobility, Operations

New-Car Interest Rates Climb Fastest on West Coast

New-car interest rates in the West have increased 112 basis points in the past year, the biggest jump for any region, according to Informa Research Services. Informa analyzes auto loan interest rates by region and credit tier for current-year and 1-year-old models. The national average interest rate for auto loans in the West increased to […]

• Monica Melton
• December 13, 2018
• Credit Performance

Tesla Issues Second-Ever Lease Securitization Despite Previous Downgrade

Tesla Inc. is slated to issue its second-ever U.S. auto securitization on Dec. 19, according to presale reports. The $837 million transaction is 53% larger than Tesla’s inaugural securitization, which was issued in February. That securitization was subsequently downgraded because of a “significant shortfall” in the Model 3 production rate and a weak financial situation, […]

• Nicole Casperson
• December 13, 2018
• Capital Markets, Strategy

Subprime Originations Expected to Grow in 2019 Despite Lender Caution, TransUnion Says 

Anticipated growth in originations to subprime borrowers is a sign that the auto industry is normalizing and will stay healthy in 2019, Brian Landau, senior vice president and TransUnion’s auto line of business leader, told Auto Finance News. Following a lender pullback from the subprime space in 2016 and 2017, subprime as a percent of […]

• Nicole Casperson
• December 12, 2018
• Credit Performance, Operations, Strategy

TrueCar Looks to Streamline Financing With Retail Software Acquisition

TrueCar last week acquired DealerScience, a maker of automotive retail software, for $27 million. DealerScience makes tools that helps dealers create web offers, complete sales and respond to customer questions.  DealerScience’s desking technology streamlines the customer experience by automatically consolidating a dealer’s up-to-date pricing, rebates, residuals, and current incentives and finding the lowest payment based […]

• Bianca Chan
• December 12, 2018
• Archives, Technology