The government finally bit the bullet — it agreed to shell out $17.4 billion from the TARP fund to enable GM and Chrysler to operate through March. But what will happen to improve the auto finance sector in that timeframe? Very little, I’m afraid.



You see, during the Congressional hearings a couple weeks ago, the CEOs of the Big Three made it clear that any loans granted would be used to pay for day-to-day operations. When asked outright whether some funds might be earmarked for… Continue

The speaker roster for the Auto Finance Summit has been set, and it is comprised of an impressive group of 28 senior industry executives.



The summit’s speaker faculty will tackle topics such as credit performance, pricing and underwriting, risk management, funding, and technology. Here’s just a sampling of speakers from the roster:



• Dan Berce, president and CEO, AmeriCredit Corp.

• Mike Buckingham, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor Finance Corp.

• Ken Clark, SVP,… Continue

The Auto Finance Summit, the industry’s premiere event slated for Oct. 6-8, has bolstered its speaker faculty with the addition of automotive guru Aaron Gold and economist Keith Schwer.



Gold, whose auto picks and pans can be found on About.com’s Guide to Cars, will present an in-depth preview of the new model year. He’ll discuss a range of… Continue

On the heels of Ford Motor Credit's $2.1 billion writedown of its leasing portfolio yesterday, today Chrysler Financial announced that it plans to stop offering leases in the U.S. effective Aug. 1.



Though it came a little sooner than I had expected, I can't say that I was surprised. In fact, I wrote in this space yesterday that… Continue