Credit Union Direct Lending’s technology has come a long way since its start in 1994, when a dumb terminal, keyboard, and 9600-baud modem connected to a single mainframe would churn out lending recommendations based on credit scores and application data.

These days, CUDL (www.cudl.com) offers an array of products, from customizable auto buying programs and pre-approval solutions to a dealer portal and smartphone apps. Ontario, Calif.-based CUDL has…

Auto lenders are under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s microscope, as the agency issued subpoenas regarding the sale of extended warranties and other financial products, people close to the matter said in a published report.

Lenders worry the investigation could put the brakes on strong auto-loan activity. Any…

DALLAS -- The auto finance industry is now doing all it can to send more business into the repossession market by loosening underwriting standards and looking to originate more loans, according to speakers and attendees at last week's North American Repossessors Summit, hosted by the American…

Customer feedback is essential to companies rolling out new products. There are entire industries -- such as polling and focus groups -- that are built to solicit consumers for their opinions to give companies insights that are not available via any other means. 

Honda is taking that strategy to an entirely different level for its new Fit…

Capital One Financial Corp. will pay a $3.5 million fine to settle allegations of understating millions of dollars in auto-loan losses prior to the recession, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.

The SEC said the lender minimized its auto finance losses by 18% in the second quarter of 2007 and by 9% the following quarter, a time most lenders' profits stemmed from subprime loans. The agency’s investigation discovered that Capital One Auto Finance’s charge-offs…

Ford Motor Co. posted a pre-tax profit of $2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013, driven by “record performance” from Ford Credit, the company said in its quarterly earnings report today. …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the creation of the Office of Financial Institutions and Business Liaison, and Director Richard Cordray looked to Freddie Mac and the Senate Banking Committee to fill two key positions for it.

Cordray chose Dan Smith as the first assistant director for the new office. Most recently, Smith was director for industry and state regulations at Freddie Mac, and prior to that, he represented Fortune 500 companies as vice president at…

As a way to honor Earth Day, Experian Automotive released an analysis of hybrid vehicles. The data shows that hybrid marketshare has increased nearly 41% in the past two years -- though it remains in the low single digits. Hybrids accounted for 3.1% of sales last year compared with 2.2% in 2011. …

Are 96-month loans the new 72-month loans? With auto prices on the upswing, and consumers seeking affordable monthly payments, it seems many lenders are stretching terms to eight years. In fact, recent data from J.D. Power and Associates found that nearly one-third of auto loans were 72-months or longer, a record…

Auto Finance News and FIS (www.fisglobal.com) have partnered to provide enhanced technology-related content to AFN subscribers. The deal calls for AFN to publish a twice-yearly supplement called TechSpotlight ― the first issue of which was released last month ― and to develop a designated technology track at the Auto Finance Summit (www.autofinancesummit.com), the…

Overall vehicle sales remained strong or had moderate increases across the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts, but New York and Cleveland reported slight declines in used-car sales, according to the April 17 Beige Book.

Cleveland saw its used-car sales decline in February, but an uptick in leasing is expected to boost used-car inventory.…

The auto loan default rate remained flat in the first quarter, found the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The data also indicated the rate stayed flat at 1.11% between February and March.

Analysts from S&P Dow Jones and Experian discovered many decreases in national default rates last month, with the national composite stable at 1.50% in March, down from 1.55% a month earlier. First and second mortgage default rates also decreased month-over-month, while there was…

Retail partnerships with automakers resulted in an uptick in loan originations for two of the industry’s biggest lenders, Wells Fargo Dealer Services and Chase Auto Finance.

Wells Fargo reported record-breaking originations to the tune of $6.8 billion in the first quarter of this year, which parent Wells Fargo & Co. said was a 10% year-over-year gain. JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced quarterly originations at its auto-lending arm were $6.5 billion, a 12% increase. Both stated…

The Fifth Annual Auto Finance Risk Summit has entered the final phase of the registration process for the annual event, with leading automotive lending and leasing…

T-Mobile recently made waves in the world of wireless communications when it did away with a requirement for customers to sign a two-year contract when getting a price break on a new phone or changing their monthly…

DriveTime Automotive Group saw increases in total revenue, unit sales, and originations last year, according to reports the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. …

There has been a tremendous evolution in sports during the past decade or so where players are being judged on new statistics -- and past performance is being valued less -- while using analytics to try and predict future performance is being used much more. The trend, known as "Moneyball," is named after a popular book and movie chronicling how the general manager of the Oakland A's embracing this mindset led to his team's ability to continue to succeed despite having one of the lowest…

It’s safe to bet that most consumers look forward to receiving their tax refund each year to save it for the proverbial rainy day, a vacation, to pay bills, or buy a big-ticket item. 

A study released today by eBay Inc. discovered that a third of consumers who received or will receive a refund this year intend…

Forget basketball. This year’s March madness was all about used-car sales, and the certified pre-owned segment was not to be outdone by used-vehicle sales, which, as we reported last week, topped three million units for the first time since 2002.

CPO sales volume had its best-ever month in March, moving…

With 12% year-over-year growth in 1Q13, sales of used vehicles are on track to hit an all-time high before 2015, said Tom Webb, chief economist at Manheim, during the company’s quarterly conference call Friday. 

That growth, Webb said, was driven by several factors, including buyers having ample financing…