AFSA submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on June 30 in response to the commission’s hearings on competition and consumer protection in the 21st century. The letter lays out the necessity for a “single, federal, risk-based standard” for data security.

Webinars are complimentary to AFSA members.

Under existing law, a towing service or repair shop could hold a vehicle for at least 30 days and even claim another lien against the vehicle due to nonpayment for services. During this period, the service provider is required to notify all owners and lienholders of the amount due and may eventually hold a public auction for the sale of the vehicle following publication of a notice of sale. This process has been abused for many years through fraudulent liens on customer’s vehicles, and selling vehicles without properly notifying the lienholder.

The methodology to review and evaluate the privacy practices of third parties has potential implications for financial institutions. In particular, financial institutions are required to perform assessments of third-party service providers for their ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations. A means of determining and reporting on the relative strength or weakness of a company’s privacy practices would be an important component in selecting and managing third-party service providers.

This week, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology advanced the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) . The bill is intended to prevent unwanted robocalls, but could be problematic for legitimate businesses. The bill could be marked up in the full committee as early as July.

More than 50 leaders of the American Financial Services Association’s (AFSA) Vehicle Finance Division and the National Automobile Dealer Association’s (NADA) met this week in Washington, DC, to discuss opportunities and challenges for the U.S. automotive retail channel.

AFSA will submit a response and continues meeting with the FCC staff and other federal agencies to ensure that consumers can receive essential calls without delay.

AFSA has offered its support for H.R. 3182, legislation introduced by Representatives Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Ted Budd (R-NC) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, to delay the implementation of the Federal Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) standard until the Security and Exchange Commission conducts a quantitative impact study. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced a companion bill in the Senate in May. The CECL standard would significantly change accounting practices by requiring financial institutions to recognize and reserve for expected credit losses over the life of the loan.

On June 20, AFSA submitted a comment letter to the New York legislature raising concerns about AB 2078 and its companion SB 4019, which would remove liability for the early termination of a lease in the event of a lessee’s death. The bills are on the calendar for consideration on the Assembly floor on the final day of the session before the legislature recesses for the year.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is holding its fourth annual PrivacyCon on June 27, 2019.