Five Questions With is a monthly Q&A segment on AutoFinanceExcellence.org that offers a glimpse of what senior industry executives are thinking about outside the boardroom. Read on to find out. John Thacker started his auto finance career two decades ago as a bill collector for Ford Motor Credit, and after “sitting in all the chairs” […]

San Francisco-based Bank of the West is making investments to strengthen dealer relationships. At the top of the priority list is a dealer portal, slated for release by yearend. “We continue to invest in the dealer interface,” Executive Vice President of Personal Finance Michael Pereira told AFN. “We need to be engaging with our dealers […]

General Motors Financial Co. is turning to blockchain technology from Spring Labs to strengthen fraud prevention and detection capabilities. Spring Labs, which counts GM Financial as its “cornerstone partner” in the auto finance space, is building a blockchain-based network of finance and technology companies, company Founder and Chief Executive Adam Jiwan told Auto Finance News. […]

Volvo Financial Services is hosting seven startups for its iLabX program, which gives the companies an opportunity to develop ideas and utilize the captive’s resources over 10 weeks at VFS U.S. headquarters in Greensboro, N.C. The seven companies, announced today, were selected from 183 applicants and will have an opportunity to partner with the captive following […]

Auto Finance Excellence, a sister service of Auto Finance News, is proud to announce State National Companies as the official Customer Experience sponsor. State National, a division of Markel Corp., has been in business for more than 45 years and is a specialty provider of collateral protection insurance. In its lender services segment, the company […]

Subprime lender Nicholas Financial Inc. suffered losses in 2018 as a result of legacy portfolios with “difficult pools in terms of underwriting quality” from purchases made in previous years, Chief Executive Doug Marohn said in an earnings statement earlier this month. Clearwater, Fla.-based Nicholas lost $900,000 for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018, and originations […]

As auto lenders increasingly turn to technology to improve customer experience, the Senate Banking Committee is pushing for “close scrutiny” over the way financial institutions collect, use, and protect personally identifiable consumer information, the committee announced this week. Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) asked for feedback from […]

Consumer Portfolio Services increased originations 5.1% last year, bucking company expectations, Chief Executive Charles Bradley Jr. said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call this week. “2018 was a better year than we expected but nothing [that] we were looking for,” Bradley said. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of housekeeping in 2018 that should bode well […]

From the February issue: With new-car purchases lagging and used-values increasing, captives and OEMs are reimagining lease products to keep their customer bases growing. Roughly a decade ago, 1.4 million new vehicles were leased — a 16% penetration rate. Fast forward to 2019, and lease volume is expected to reach 4.1 million, with penetration as […]