We are nearing the first full month with the new Administration and there has been lots of activity from the White House. Vaccine distribution is rolling out, COVID-19 cases are trending down across much of the country, and Congress has a stimulus package to address. All of these actions bode well for the powersports industry eager to ramp up sales.
There have been some notable actions around compliance. Former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rohit Chopra has been nominated to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). During his tenure with the FTC, Chopra was active in pursuing abusive and discriminatory lending practices. Specifically, Chopra has signaled interest in establishing more protections against auto lending abuses, specifically for members of the military, Black and Hispanic consumers. If confirmed, Chopra would replace current CFPB head Kathy Kraninger.
As we can expect a renewed and revitalized federal compliance program, there is no better than now for a solid compliance training refresher for your sales and F&I staff.
Cross Your Ts with Compliance Training
Compliance training not only provides a good refresher for your team, but it is also an opportunity to confirm that your processes and procedures are in good shape. For example, to comply with Regulation B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, is your team versed in how to ask for income without asking for the type of income to prevent discrimination? Is it part of your F&I practice to always give a Privacy Notice whenever you share or plan on sharing the customer’s information with any outside source? When was the last time you audited your written information security program to ensure you are doing everything possible to protect non-public consumer information?
In addition to these federal regulations, there may be changes at your state and local level that demand an update on compliance.
With a 100 percent AFIP-certified field and training team, EFG Companies has the expertise necessary to provide critical guidance, through instore and online training, chats or text Q&As. The potential for a costly mistake might increase this year with new rules and regulations. Simply assuming your dealership is compliant is too big of a risk.
The team at EFG Companies brings a wealth of strategic business acumen and tools to drive value for our powersports dealer clients. We’re not just your F&I provider – we are your business partner. Contact us today to learn more about our profitable and compliant training solutions for your business.
