Tag: FTC

Categories
Compliance

Yes – Regulatory Compliance Matters

The powersports industry has been on a profitable roll for several quarters with the majority of dealers exceeding sales expectations. Low interest rates and a recovering economy bode well for strong revenue for the remainder of the year.

While revenues look strong, regulatory oversight is also building momentum. New leadership within the CFPB has signaled through their rulemaking agenda that automotive lending practices will garner increased scrutiny. New legislative bodies within state and local governments in many areas have followed suite to respond to discriminatory lending practices and perceived predatory consumer behavior.

Now, you may be thinking that you are insulated. After all, the CFPB has jurisdiction over lenders and Buy Here Pay Here Dealers, not you. It’s important to remember that under the Consumer Protection Act, state attorneys general can levy fines against retail auto and powersports dealers under the Federal Trade Commission. This means that your powersports dealership is just as likely to be hit with large fines as the auto dealership down the street. So, what can you do to protect your business?

Continue reading “Yes – Regulatory Compliance Matters”
Categories
Compliance Dealership Training

Compliance Training in 2021

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.

Continue reading “Compliance Training in 2021”
Categories
Compliance

We’ve Been Down This Path

Steve Roennau Vice President Compliance EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been in the news a lot lately.

From Acting Director Mick Mulvany’s decommissioning of the Advisory Committee, to a federal district judge ruling its structure is unconstitutional, some might think that the CFPB’s days are numbered.

But history has a lesson to offer, compliments of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC was created on September 26, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act into law. The regulatory agency opened its doors in 1915, with a mission to protect consumers and promote competition. The FTC building was finished in 1938, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt stating, “May this permanent home of the Federal Trade Commission stand for all time as a symbol of the purpose of the government to insist on a greater application of the golden rule to conduct the corporation and business enterprises in their relationship to the body politic.”

Currently, the FTC houses three bureaus:

  1. the Bureau of Consumer Protection
  2. the Bureau of Competition
  3. the Bureau of Economics

Each bureau has a set of mandates to guide its work. In the early 1970s, the agency became more aggressive in its prosecutions and sanctions. The business community and Congress criticized the FTC’s activism, claiming it had become too powerful, was insensitive to the needs of the public and business, and operated with little oversight from Congress or the president. During President Ronald Reagan’s first term, control of the FTC was moved under the president. Its direction was modified to become more cooperative with business interests, while continuing its consumer protective functions.

A Matter of Checks and Balances

Continue reading “We’ve Been Down This Path”