For consumers who can’t make up their minds between leasing and buying, Ally Financial seems to have just the product to fit their needs. The company announced today that it will offer its Buyer’s Choice product in select U.S. states for new 2011 and 2012 General Motors and Chrysler vehicles.

How does it work? Buyer's Choice allows customers to own their vehicles with a fixed rate and payment (the loan…

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LAS VEGAS--The feel from day one of the Auto Finance Summit, which started yesterday and continues today here, suggest that current market conditions favor industry expansion, although no lender called it the best auto finance market ever. Not by a long shot.

Solid new car sales, which should end in the 13 million range for 2011, have provided a boon to lenders and lessors. But with the improved origination volume this year have come remarkably varied underwriting, and in some cases…

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On days I don't make it to the gym, I like to go jogging. As a data geek and someone who loves his iPhone more than is probably considered sane for an inanimate object in everyday society, I use an app to track my route, my distance, and my time.

When I finish a run, the app also asks me for some additional information, like what kind of terrain I ran on, what the weather was like, and what my general mood was during my run (I'm always happy, FYI).…

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Who says you can’t buy time?

BillFloat — a company that helps customers add up to 30 more days to pay their monthly bills without incurring late fees — announced this week that additional automotive financing and auto insurance companies will be using BillFloat as a payment option for consumers. The extended list of companies will give one million more customers the ability to use BillFloat for…

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Geographic expansion and higher credit lending will prop up auto loan originations for Capital One Auto Finance in the coming months, a pair of senior executives said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call.

Cap One originated $3.4 billion of auto loans last quarter, up 17% from the second quarter and up 40% from 3Q10. “We expect that auto originations will remain strong and drive continuing growth in auto loans,” said Richard Fairbank, chairman and chief executive…

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One of my favorite scenes from the movie, "Jurassic Park," is the one in which the game warden for the park is trying to hunt down the missing velociraptors. The warden has spotted a raptor in the jungle and is slowly, quietly, painstakingly making his way close enough to get a shot on the dinosaur. His focus is so intense that he fails to notice that there's another raptor standing right beside him, waiting to go in for the kill. 

I thought of that scene as I formulated my argument…

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Chase Auto Finance has inked its latest automaker partnership, an arrangement to become the exclusive finance provider for Aston Martin in the U.S.



The agreement calls for Chase Auto to provide subvented financing rates to Aston Martin’s 32 U.S. dealers.



“With an award-winning model lineup and exciting new products, such as Virage, Vantage S and the four-door Rapide, we are delighted to offer through Chase Auto Finance the opportunity for many new customers to experience… Continue

TCF Financial Corporation announced yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, TCF National Bank, plans to acquire Gateway One Lending & Finance LLC.

Gateway One, a privately held lending company, has relationships with more than 3,100 dealers in over 30 states. As of late September, the company had originated $214 million in auto loans year-to-date and had a managed portfolio of $406 million. The Anaheim,…

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I'm very much a creature of habit, but I've never been satisfied with the status quo as an answer for why or how something is done a certain way. Just another loose strand in the fabric that makes me me, I guess.

This post will raise the idea of challenging the status quo, specifically as it pertains to debt collectors contacting borrowers via text messages and cell phone calls. 

Forget the studies that illustrate how many consumers are giving up their landline phones and using…

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Though BBVA Compass exited the indirect auto lending business in 2009, the Birmingham, Ala.-based bank has launched a new service to get itself back in front of car shoppers.



The BBVA Compass Car-Buying Service, as the program is called, is a joint venture with TrueCar Inc., a provider of real-time, new-car transaction data online. Available at… Continue

In a new partnership, Roadloans.com is now the preferred lender for Vehix, the online car shopping site that connects shoppers with auto dealers and advertisers.

Roadloans.com, owned by Santander Consumer USA, is an online auto lender specializing in financing, refinancing and servicing new and used auto loans for customers seeking a direct lending experience.

When shoppers visit Vehix.com, they will now see the RoadLoans.com option when they search for vehicles and indicate…

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Voting along party lines, the nomination for Richard Cordray to lead the CFPB passed today by the Senate Banking Committee.

Although he has made it further in the process than Elizabeth Warren, it’s not yet a victory for the former Ohio Attorney General. He now faces an official Senate vote. Today, the 10 Republicans on the committee voted against the nomination while 12 Democrats voted in support.

In July,…

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Working on a hunch, I conducted a very unscientific study. I counted all the commercials during last night's episode of "Glee" to see how many were either commercials related to cars or commercials related to financial services. By my rough count, about 26% of the commercials fell within either of those two categories; an amount which I think is fairly representative of a normal hour of primetime television as well as being a normal distribution of television advertisements. 

The…

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Consumer loan delinquencies are still on the rise, as evidenced by the American Bankers Association's latest Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Nine of 11 loan categories ―including auto, RV, and marine ― showed slightly higher delinquencies in the second quarter, according to the ABA.

For autos, 30-day late payments inched up 3 basis points from the prior quarter, to 1.23%, for direct loans; delinquencies grew to 2.89% from 2.72% for indirect loans. For non-autos, the delinquency…

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In an ongoing effort to gather information about consumer protection issues related to auto lending and leasing, the Federal Trade Commission will hold its third Vehicle Finance Roundtable on Nov. 17 in Washington, D.C.



The event will take place at the FTC Conference Center, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Though the agenda has not yet been finalized, topics for the third roundtable will include motor vehicle leasing, among other issues. Previous roundtables, held in Detroit and San… Continue

Although all the numbers aren’t yet reported, here is a feel for September U.S auto sales. Despite a dismal economy, the auto industry seems to be looking at an upbeat recovery, with numbers reaching the highest they have been since April.

 

Some of the biggest accomplishments this month, compared with sales in September 2010 include:

• Chrysler sales rose…

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In one of the best certifications of auto lending's strength, Equifax today reported that auto lending originations in the first half of 2011 climbed 15% compared to the same period in 2010.

The results are part of Equifax's National Credit Trends Report…

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