Marcie Belles's Blog – March 2009 Archive (11)

Solving the Floorplan Dilemma

ORLANDO, FLa. — With so much news — at times, conflicting — coming out of Washington, there was no better place to be yesterday than in a room brimming with lenders and industry executives.

After President Barack Obama’s address about reviving the auto industry, which was streamed live into the conference hall, attendees at the Consumer Bankers Association’s Auto Finance Conference were buzzing. Some folks were encouraged by the President’s recognition of the import of our industry,… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 31, 2009 at 2:00am — 1 Comment

Task Force Nixes Plans; Wagoner Gets the Boot

The government committee tasked with restarting the auto industry has issued its ultimatums: Chrysler has 30 days and $6 billion to finalize an alliance with Fiat, and GM has 60 days and an undisclosed “interim financing” to rework its restructuring plan. Should the companies fail to meet their deadlines, they could face bankruptcy.

The task force put the kibosh on GM’s request for another $16.6 billion, and forced the resignation of GM CEO Rick Wagoner. The majority of the GM board… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 30, 2009 at 1:00am — 6 Comments

Honda Finance Risk Chief Joins AFRS Speaker Faculty

Paul Kramarz, manager of risk and analysis at American Honda Finance Corp., has joined the Price Execution & Optimization panel at the upcoming Auto Finance Risk Summit.

Kramarz will address topics including today’s thinking on risk-based pricing, integrating enterprise risk management into pricing practice, and innovations in pricing, among other things.

Prior to joining American Honda Finance, Kramarz worked for several banks in branch management. He holds a B.A. in… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 27, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Making It Work

After 50 years in auto finance, Fireside Bank is shutting its doors. Parent company Unitrin Inc., a Chicago-based property and casualty insurer, announced yesterday that its subprime auto lending subsidiary had stopped originating loans.

Fireside, which employed 730 people at yearend 2008, has a loan portfolio in excess of $1 billion, making it one of the top financiers in the nation. It will continue to service its portfolio, winding down operations in the next few years. During… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 25, 2009 at 12:00pm — 8 Comments

Spring Is in the Air

Ford Motor Credit, Huntington Bank, and Nissan Motor Acceptance are getting set to tap the securitization market with TALF offerings.

TALF, an acronym for the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, is a Federal Reserve program meant to restore the flow of capital to the lending sector.

According to published reports, Ford Credit is readying $2.95 billion of bonds, and NMAC is preparing to sell a $1.3 billion package. The Ford deal size exceeds to total amount of auto… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 18, 2009 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Dictating Sales

Here’s an interesting article from CUNA, the credit union trade group.

The story in a nutshell: The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles shut down an informal car sale site that happened to be located at a local credit union. The reason: Used-car dealers in the area complained that they were losing business.

Apparently, the sale had been happening for years. Every weekend, people would slap contact… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 17, 2009 at 11:30am — 5 Comments

Getting the Message Out

Dealership group Asbury Automotive today reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 financial results. As could be expected, lower vehicle sales and reduced parts-and-service business pressured earnings, and despite a host of cost-cutting measures, the dealership group lost $365.4 million for the quarter and $338 million for the year.

Among other things, Asbury relocated its corporate headquarters to Duluth, Ga., from New York. It reduced staff by 25%, bought back $60 million of… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 16, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Dealership Troubles

Check out this report about three dealership executives and 81 cars (worth $2.5 million) missing from Legacy Auto Sales, a dealership in Scottsbluff, Neb.

Warrants have been issued for the arrest of the dealership’s owner, controller, and general manager, who are suspected of masterminding the theft.

Already, some of the vehicles have been sold at auction, and Toyota Motor Finance is on the hook as floorplan… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 12, 2009 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

GM Faces the Music

After months of speculation, General Motors Corp. has finally admitted that the likelihood for survival outside of bankruptcy is slim.

The automaker filed its 2008 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. In the 10-K filing, GM’s auditors, Deloitte & Touche LLP, admitted that a chance at viability was remote.

"The corporation's recurring losses from operations, stockholders' deficit, and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 5, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

The Breaking Point

Lenders are keeping a sharp eye on the unemployment rate as a predictor of vehicle sales.

For 2006 and 2007, the unemployment rate tracked at a relatively steady 4.6%. Monthly vehicle sales, meanwhile, zigzagged, but largely stayed in the one-million to 1.5-million range. Since the beginning of 2008, though, the two indicators’ tracks have diverged.

This graph plots vehicle sales against the unemployment rate:…

Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 4, 2009 at 1:00pm — 8 Comments

World Omni to Initiate TALF, WSJ Reports

Privately held auto financier World Omni Financial Corp. will likely be the TALF program’s guinea pig.

The unit of JM Family Enterprises is prepping a $750 million securitization backed by loans originated via Toyota dealerships in the Southeastern U.S., according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal. A number of other auto finance companies are putting together deals, too, the paper said.

TALF, or the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, calls for… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on March 4, 2009 at 11:00am — 1 Comment