From false documents, overstating income and phantom loans to synthetic identities and leveraging stolen data on the Dark Web, vehicle finance fraudsters are adapting and innovating as quickly as the technology and techniques used to trap them. Hear from experts on the frontlines who are combating the fast evolving fraud market and what you need […]

Earlier this week AFSA joined the Bank Policy Institute, the Consumer Bankers Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) raising concerns and requesting clarification on a recent Advisory Opinion (AO) released on October 11, 2023, regarding Section 1034(c) of the Dodd-Frank Act.  The letter raises […]

In November the California Third Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision that affects the vehicle finance industry, Stettner v. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA, LLC. Unpublished opinions are prohibited from being cited by counsel in memoranda of law and are not binding on inferior courts. Last Friday Alston & Bird submitted a request for publication on […]

Today, AFSA wrote a letter to the Senate Banking Committee in opposition to the recently introduced the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act, which targets the ability of Industrial Loan Companies (ILCs) charted entities to exist in the financial service marketplace. Bipartisan Senators including Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John […]

Sponsors in the U.S. Senate of the latest national rate cap bill apparently aren’t clear on the concept of holiday giving. The goal should be to give a gift, not take things away. Yet that is what Sen. Jack Reed’s “all-in” 36% APR cap legislation would do:  take away access to much needed credit for […]

Yesterday’s decision by the Federal Reserve to hold the short-term interest rate steady for the third consecutive meeting at a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent came as no surprise. Indeed, financial markets had consistently in recent weeks put the odds of a continued pause at more than 99 percent. What was unexpected was a […]

Due to some surprising announcements and actions in the past few weeks, Congressional math will look different after the New Year. As Congress heads into 2024, an election year, here are the most recent changes to the House of Representatives makeup and what it might mean for the future. The House voted to expel Republican […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a final rule related to vehicle shopping yesterday. AFSA and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) submitted a comment letter on the proposed rule in September 2022. We are pleased that a few of AFSA’s comments, mainly relating to the definition of “dealer,” were adopted in the final rule. At […]

AFSA is pleased to announce Robert H. Kurnick, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Penske Corporation and President of Penske Automotive Group, Inc., as the Industry Keynote speaker at its 2024 Vehicle Finance Conference and Expo.   Kurnick, whose career with the Penske organization spans almost three decades, leads a global, highly diversified transportation services company, […]

Earlier this week AFSA encouraged other trade organizations to join a letter requesting that President Joe Biden support clear rules of the road in the financial services industry that take into account both the benefits and costs of regulation. The letter highlighted that large and small financial institutions alike share the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s […]