Tag: Brien Joyce

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Our nation’s lending industry has once again made headlines for deceptive consumer practices. While this negative press is highlighting one main lender, it is also affecting general consumer sentiment about the lending industry as a whole. And, this negative sentiment is bleeding in to auto finance.

With the CFPB’s heightened focus on auto finance, lenders have been under pressure to demonstrate dealership compliance. To date, lenders have put the onus on dealers to provide compliance documentation that they can then provide the CFPB. However, with these latest developments, it’s becoming clear that both consumers and businesses of all shapes and sizes will require lenders to demonstrate their compliance procedures to keep their business.

Dealers are now concerned with the negative repercussions they can receive from sending customers to noncompliant lenders. Remember, your reputation can have a direct correlation to a dealer’s reputation, especially if you’ve been their preferred lender.

Hypothetically, if a dealer’s preferred lender relationship was with a lender of suspect, the customers who purchased vehicles through that dealer may refinance, which equals lost profit and chargebacks to the dealership. With the chance of reduced unit profit, increased chargebacks, and a potential hit to dealership credibility, it makes sense for dealers to want some assurances from their lenders that everything is above board.