“We’ve heard CFPB may be looking into this,” Celia Winslow, AFSA’s senior vice president, said during the association’s Vehicle Finance Conference held virtually last month. “We spent time over the summer sharing the value of these products with the CFPB, particularly how useful borrowers found them during the pandemic … but we know from past conversations that certain members of Congress view these with a lot of skepticism.”
Paul Metrey, NADA’s vice president of regulatory affairs, also warned dealers of a series of sweeping amendments the FTC proposed to its Safeguards Rule. The proposed changes — which the FTC is expected to take action on this year — could cost an average-size U.S. franchised dealership nearly $300,000 in upfront costs and roughly that amount each year after to maintain compliance, according to an NADA study.
Although dealers are not under the purview of the CFPB, “the FTC does have regulatory authority and has taken enforcement actions against several dealers,” Calpin said.
