Bipartisan robocalls bill assigns stiffer FCC enforcement

A bipartisan bill introduced by House lawmakers on Thursday would give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to issue harsher penalties against callers who violate robocall laws, according to a press release by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. This week, the bill will move forward through the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. Led by […]

• Bianca Chan
• June 24, 2019
• Archives, Compliance, Risk

Slowing Inventory Turnover Reduces Floorplan ABS Payment Rates

As vehicles idle on dealers’ lots, auto lenders face slower repayment of their floorplan loans. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., for one, has been in breach of a floorplan trigger since February, when its three-month payment rate dropped below 35%. As such, NMAC had to increase credit enhancement levels in its floorplan trust. Ally Financial, Ford […]

• Marcie Belles
• June 19, 2019
• Capital Markets, Compliance, Sales & Marketing

Competitive (Dis)Advantage: The Data Reporting Standard Set to Disrupt Auto Finance

A new accounting regulation with a staggered implementation schedule is on track to disrupt the auto finance playing field. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rule called Current Expected Credit Losses — or CECL, for short — requires lenders to reserve for the lifetime of a loan’s losses upon origination, which could double loss provisions […]

• Nicole Casperson and Bianca Chan
• June 19, 2019
• Compliance, Features, Risk, Strategy

CFPB Supervisory Highlights Provide Guidance on Deficiency Balances and Rebates

Under Richard Cordray’s Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), it was “compliance malpractice” not to take heed of the Bureau’s enforcement actions when determining how to comply with federal consumer finance laws. Both Acting Director Mick Mulvaney and current CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger have stated that the Bureau will no longer engage in such “regulation by enforcement.” While this change in position is […]

• Peter Cockrell
• June 18, 2019
• Auto Finance Excellence, Compliance

Senators Urge Regulatory Oversight of AI to Prevent Discrimination

As auto lenders increasingly turn to technology like artificial intelligence to improve business practices, two senators are pressing regulators to ensure anti-discrimination laws keep up with the innovation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) sent a letter to the leaders of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of […]

• Nicole Casperson
• June 17, 2019
• Compliance, Risk

Santander’s Calling System Still Violates TCPA, Court Finds

Santander Consumer USA’s Aspect calling system will still be considered an automatic telephone dialing system under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to a recent federal court decision. The motion to reconsider filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was based on the premise that the definition of an autodialer changed […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• June 14, 2019
• Compliance, Risk

Indiana Regulator Focuses on Education for Auto Lenders

Refunds associated with guaranteed asset protection coverage and violations in the Truth in Lending Act are the top two compliance issues Indiana’s Department of Financial Institutions encounters, General Counsel Lyndsay Miller told Auto Finance News. To that end, the regulator is taking an educational approach to compliance when working with auto lenders in the state, […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• June 12, 2019
• Compliance

Perfecting the Formula: Why Lenders Need to Harness the Power of Social Media

From June's issue: Since the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, consumers are increasingly turning to social media to view content, interact with each other, and communicate with the companies they engage with in business. Lenders in auto finance have started harnessing the width and breath of social media, but many are only scratching the […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• June 11, 2019
• Compliance, Features, Operations, Risk, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Technology