The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) responded to the American Financial Services Association’s recent op-ed with one of their own. The CRL does not dispute the facts we laid out earlier this week related to the organization’s flawed approach of simply focusing on the rate of a loan, rather than the more important factors consumers should consider: length of the loan and affordability, for example.

Last week The Wall Street Journal published a story on a scam it called “kicking the trade,” which some American Financial Services Association members are aware of as a “walkaway loan” or “stove piping.” Our colleagues at the National Auto Dealers Association, as well as some of our members, have engaged with Journal reporters on background, on the record, and in prepared statements for what appears to a series of articles on the topic of vehicle sales and finance. Each of the stories has presented almost purely anecdotal evidence, and the reporters rarely if ever provide readers with our industries’ full statements or context on the matters.

In this episode of the AFSA Extra Credit Podcast, we’re speaking Ginger Herring, President & CEO of 1st Franklin Financial Corp. Ginger is a third generation leader of 1st Franklin, which has been offering consumer credit products on Main Streets across the South since 1941. We talk about the important role of face-to-face contact and how fortunate Ginger feels to have a role in the lives of her neighbors for more than six decades. We also touch on how some public policies are threatening that role.

Radio Media Tour Highlights AFSA Education Foundation’s Value

Join us on February 20 at 2:00 p.m. ET for The Borrower’s Digital Journey, presented by REPAY.

Sincerely,

The keynote speaker at AFSA’s Vehicle Finance Conference & Expo, Frank Luntz, was no where to be found at the start of his speech. Suddenly a familiar voice that has been on cable news air waves for over two decades, made his presence known from the back of the ballroom.

The American Financial Services Association kicks off its annual Vehicle Finance Conference with a focus on what makes our industry so crucial to our national economy: our diversity and our focus on empowering consumers. The Women’s Leadership Council and Law Committee met today to examine issues around ensuring that our industry reflects the customers and communities our members serve, while also ensuring that at the state and federal level pro-consumer policies are in place to ensure customers are protected and have access to the credit they need.

America has a significant underbanked and unbanked issue. Instead of supporting policies that protect consumers from predatory lenders like payday and vehicle title lenders, we have so-called consumer groups supporting policies with rigged polling data that would actually harm those who need access to credit in times of need. AFSA President, Bill Himpler, frames the right questions and how policy makers should be considering pro-consumer policies for access to credit.

The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) today released its 2020 Federal Priorities. America has a full history of evolving national consumer financial protection laws aimed at ensuring consumers are fairly and responsibly treated by financial institutions. Some 22 different federal laws, spanning eight different agencies, create a layered system of laws that protect consumers. The steady progression of these laws promotes a rich and diverse economy where consumers have tremendous choice in accessing a myriad of credit products from a wide variety of sources. As our economy continues to evolve, our consumer finance laws must account for the needs of both consumers and business. With an eye toward improving our existing system, we offer the 2020 Federal Priorities to strengthen and improve the marketplace for today’s consumers.