Paul Watkins, Director of the Office of Innovation at the Bureau for Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP), is the luncheon speaker Oct. 24 at AFSA’s upcoming Annual Meeting.

Join AFSA on Tuesday, October 2 at 2 p.m. ET for Verify to Clarify – Know More About Your Customers to Help Grow & Increase your Portfolio Profitability, presented by Equifax.

The second podcast in AFSA’s recently-launched AFSA Today series is available at afsaonline.org/podcasts.

AFSA staff attended the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s (BCFP) Building a Bridge to Credit Visibility Symposium on Sept. 17, the focus of which was using innovation to build economic opportunity.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) this week posted a blog saying it is emphasizing growing its state and local government relationships, as part of its Strategic Plan and Objectives for this year.

Today’s financial institutions understand the power of artificial intelligence to drive profitability in their businesses. Many lenders employ data science teams who are experimenting with machine learning. But the challenge for many in-house modelers is getting machine learning models into production in a safe and responsible manner, consistent with regulatory requirements.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) and four other federal agencies this week issued a joint statement explaining the role of supervisory guidance for regulated institutions, clarifying that guidance does not have the same effect as law.

Despite the announcement last week that U.S. auto sales through August are tracking at an annual rate of 17 million units by year-end, certain economic headwinds are possible which would affect both auto manufacturers and lenders in the future. The industry peaked in 2016 with a record 17.6 million new vehicle sales.

The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) today launched a new communications channel for AFSA members and prospective members. AFSA Today, is AFSA’s first-ever podcast focusing on a discussion of issues relevant to the consumer credit industry.

AFSA will host a webinar on September 7 about the recently-passed California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375/Chapter 55) and the new requirements for financial institutions doing business in the state. Although the requirements will not take effect until 2020, it is important for companies to consider how the significant changes will affect their relationships with customers.