On November 17, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced in a blog post that it is in seeking to build a new data set that “will allow for a more robust understanding of market trends” in the auto market.  According to the CFPB, over 100 million Americans have an auto loan, and auto loan balances (currently estimated at $1.5 trillion nationally) are on pace to surpass student loans as the second-largest debt category in 2023. … Continue Reading

In a blog post on Monday, the CFPB advised that it is concerned about the impact of rising car prices on consumer’s financial health, particularly consumers with sub-prime or near prime credit scores.  The most recent Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that the total dollar value of outstanding auto loans rose to $1.5 trillion last quarter, an increase of $33 billion from Q1 to Q2 this year. … Continue Reading

In a new Data Point report, “Subprime Auto Loan Outcomes by Lender Type,” the CFPB looks at how interest rates and default risk vary across different types of subprime lenders, and how much of the variation in interest rates among subprime loans can be explained by differences in default rates.  … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released the Summer 2019 edition of its Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses the Bureau’s examination findings in the areas of automobile loan originations, credit card account management, debt collection, furnishing, and mortgage originations.

Key findings include the following:

Auto loan originations.  Auto lenders were found to have engaged in an abusive practice by selling GAP insurance to consumers whose low loan-to-value ratios meant they would not benefit from the product. … Continue Reading

Yesterday, the CFPB released the Winter 2019 edition of its Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses the Bureau’s examination findings in the areas of automobile loan servicing, deposits, mortgage loan servicing, and remittances.  In this blog post, we focus on the Bureau’s findings relating to auto loan servicing.  (We will discuss the Bureau’s other findings in a separate blog post.)… Continue Reading

A new CFPB report, “Growth in Longer-Term Auto Loans”, discusses a CFPB finding that there has been a significant increase in the use of longer-term “auto loans” since 2009.  The report could presage greater CFPB scrutiny of longer-term auto loans in supervisory examinations of banks and auto finance companies. … Continue Reading