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Compliance EFG Companies Featured

EFG Companies Enables Dealers to Achieve Greater Compliant Profitability with Common Sense Compliance

Compliance Platform Breaks Through Legalese with Practical, Actionable Information

Common Sense ComplianceEFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, today announced the launch of the company’s Common Sense Compliance® platform. The Common Sense Compliance platform was designed to ease the challenges facing retail automotive dealers and take the difficulty out of compliance by presenting the principles of compliance in an easy-to-understand manner, using layperson language with practical recommendations. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2mjbvlI.

“We are in a period of immense change, with shifting consumer demands, a technology revolution and increased compliance oversight,” said John Pappanastos, President and CEO of EFG Companies. “This Common Sense Compliance platform better enables us to help dealers take ownership of the management of a compliant yet profitable business. At EFG, we pride ourselves in advancing the industry through our client engagement model.  This platform marks another step towards achieving that goal.”

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Compliance

The Cost of Compliance

Contributing Author: John Stephens Executive Vice President EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
John Stephens
Executive Vice President
EFG Companies

Since July 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has made significant waves in the auto finance space. In 2013, they issued their bulletin titled “Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Opportunity Act” stating that they would regulate lenders on unanticipated discriminatory practices. With very little guidance on how to be compliant, lenders and dealers scrambled to revamp their anti-discrimination practices to little avail.

Between 2013 and 2016, the CFPB filed 13 enforcement actions totaling upwards of $165.17 million against auto financiers, such as:

  • Toyota Motor Credit Corporation
  • Fifth Third Bank
  • American Honda Finance Corporation
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
  • DriveTime Automotive Group
  • First Investors Financial Services Group

Beyond the restitution and civil penalties leveraged against lenders, the increased compliance oversight also had direct impact on dealer profit margins, consumer prices, and the national GDP.

According to a 2014 study of the auto finance regulatory environment by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), regulations pertaining to employment, accounting and vehicle financing made up more than 63 percent of all estimated federal regulatory compliance costs. The administration of vehicle financing alone accounted for 71 percent of all vehicle finance compliance costs and 26 percent of total dealership compliance costs.

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Compliance Featured

EFG Companies Advances Compliance Initiative with Consumer Credit Compliance Certification

Steve Roennau Vice President Compliance EFG Companies
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

EFG’s Compliance Oversight Rated as Top Area of Performance by Dealer Partners

EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, today announced the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification of EFG Compliance Vice President, Steve Roennau.

The National Automotive Finance Association (NAF) specifically designed the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program to address the challenges faced by consumer finance companies in maintaining legal compliance in an environment characterized by ever-changing federal and state regulatory requirements. It provides compliance professionals with a deep working knowledge of the federal laws and regulations that govern consumer credit along with an overview and general examination of state consumer credit law.

naflogoCoupled with EFG’s AFIP certification of its dealer services field team, this certification further demonstrates EFG’s commitment to addressing the number one “stay-awake” issue for dealers. Going forward, EFG will utilize these certifications to help its clients create a governance model to assure ongoing compliance. This will include acting as a facilitator, training on compliance best-practices, educating clients on the magnitude of what lenders are facing, and preparing them for future compliance initiatives.