The AFSA Board of Directors recently approved the nominations of three executives to replace three board members, all of whom recently retired.

The American Financial Services Association is pleased to announce the addition of Toni-Lewis Bennett as Vice President of Member Services & Engagement. Lewis-Bennett was hired following the departure of Sheilah Harrison who retired at the end of January after more than 30 years of service.

The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Monday announced that its board of directors has elected Dan Chait, President of Southeast Toyota Finance, as the new chair-elect of the AFSA board.Chait has been on the AFSA Board of Directors since 2015 and recently joined the AFSA Executive Committee. As chair-elect, he is next in line to become board chair at AFSA’s Annual Meeting in October 2019, succeeding current chair Josh Johnson, CEO of Mariner Finance.Southeast Toyota Finance is a leading provider of financial services to automotive dealers, consumers and lenders, and a subsidiary of diversified automotive corporation JM Family Enterprises, Inc. Chait also serves as a member of JM Family’s Executive Management Team, which oversees the development and implementation of the company’s long-range planning and strategies for future growth.As President, Chait is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Southeast Toyota Finance, which provides financial products to Toyota dealers and consumers in the Southeast, manages a portfolio in excess of $10 billion and was recently awarded “#1 in Mass Market Automotive Consumer Financing Satisfaction” by J.D. Power.Chait joined Southeast Toyota Finance in 2002 as Vice President, Asset Management. In 2007, he became Group Vice President, responsible for Portfolio Management, Dealer Services, Operations, Sales and Marketing functions.In 2012, he was promoted Preside …

Member companies of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), whether in auto finance or traditional installment lending, are reaching out to customers who are adversely affected by the federal government shutdown, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

The chief executives of five auto finance lenders, representing captives and major banks, will participate in a panel discussion next week at AFSA’s annual Vehicle Finance Conference, capping off three days of deep dives and 30,000-foot overviews of what the auto finance industry faces today and in the near future.

AFSA strives to assemble meeting presentations that address critical issues for consumer finance companies. At the upcoming 2nd Annual Law & Compliance Symposium, AFSA will be featuring speakers from Akerman LLP to address two discrete issues of significance.

This week AFSA submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on a proposed rule to implement the credit monitoring provisions that Congress passed as part of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act last year. The law requires nationwide consumer reporting agencies to provide free electronic credit monitoring service to active duty military consumers.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2019- The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) today announced promotions reflecting expanded expertise and increased responsibilities in both its federal and state government policy functions.

January 2, 2019Robert BlackwellEditor-in-ChiefAmerican BankerSourceMedia LLCOne State Street Plaza, 27th FloorNew York, NY 10004To the Editor,A recent story published in American Banker (“Will Congress move to outlaw ‘live’ checks?” by Andy Peters, December 27, 2018) makes a number of salient points about the consumer loan products sometimes called “live checks.” While the article points out that these products fill a recognized need in the marketplace, it also includes false claims from an activist group hostile to financial services.As the article states, live checks are in demand as customers with less than perfect credit face difficulty borrowing from traditional banks. Contrary to the claim by the activist group, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), the checks themselves are clearly and transparently marketed in accordance with federal and state truth in lending laws. Moreover, the consumer finance companies themselves have every incentive to ensure their practices are fully compliant with relevant regulations.NCLC also erroneously claims that it has been “getting more complaints about live checks, from both lawyers on the ground and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s [CFPB] complaint database.”However, NCLC offers no hard basis for the first part of that claim, and the second part is demonstrably false. As can be easily confirmed on CFPB’s own website, there have been fewer t …

Today, AFSA’s State Government Affairs department published its 2019 State Legislative Preview and 2018 Review white paper. Published monthly, AFSA’s state white papers typically provide a snapshot in time covering a single issue area; however, the 2019 preview/2018 review provides a broad look across AFSA members’ priority issues, including information on debt collection, fintech regulation, mortgage lending and servicing, payment cards and systems, state rate cap activity, traditional installment loans, and vehicle finance. The paper will give AFSA members a good idea of what they can expect from the states throughout this year.