As part of its Business Partner Webinar Series last week, AFSA hosted Equifax for Reporting Automotive Loan Payments During COVID-19 Pandemic. Drew Rosedale, Data Contributor Services Leader and Jenn Reid, VP Strategy & Marketing walked viewers through the lay of the land and what to expect in the coming weeks and months. There were four key takeaways from the program.

Join us on May 13th at 2:00 p.m. ET for Virtual Auto Retailing in Today’s Marketplace: Outlook & Strategies for Lenders, presented by DealerTrack.

AFSA’s State Government Affairs (SGA) team today published a COVID-19 state policy update white paper, the second of two papers covering state responses to the coronavirus outbreak. The white paper provides a snapshot of key state activity in response to COVID-19, updating the information provided in AFSA’s previous COVID-19 white paper published last month. This month's white paper examines credit-specific policy changes, including mandatory fee waivers, payment deferrals, collections restrictions, and moratoriums on repossession and foreclosure. The paper also provides an overview of statewide closures of non-essential businesses, state attorneys general advocacy, DMV operating changes, and state legislative session adjustments.

Join us on May 20th at 1:00 p.m. ET for Navigating Media and Consumer Engagement as We Emerge From the Pandemic. The program will be presented by Leigh Fatzinger, Founder and CEO at Turbine Labs, AFSA's partner developing AFSA Daily Connect and other media intelligence.

Jonathan Root, Senior Vice President at Harley-Davidson Financial Services, will take the American Financial Services Association Board of Directors and Vehicle Finance Board seats currently occupied by Larry Hund, who has accepted the position of Chief Commercial Officer for Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

The American Financial Services Association submitted an amicus brief on April 27 to the U.S. District Court of Maine. The case was brought by the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) against Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection William Lund. The case challenges two bills, the Medical Bill Act and the Economic Abuse Act passed by the Maine legislature in 2019.

We asked AFSA Vice President of Compliance Education Philip Bohi for his thoughts on compliance issues and his thoughts as we begin planning for a return to more normal business operations.

AFSA has become aware of several scam companies and individuals posing as AFSA staff members offering a variety of different professional contact lists. Many of the most recent messages offer discounted lists because of the need to cancel/postpone many meetings.

President Trump today signed into law an additional $484 billion in coronavirus relief, $310 billion of which replenishes the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Senate Small Business Committee Chairman, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced via Twitter that he expects the PPP to restart Monday morning.

This week, the American Financial Services Association submitted a letter to the FCC requesting immediate action regarding a petition that AFSA and other trade associations submitted last month.