Finance & Insurance

WASHINGTON — Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. said on Tuesday it had agreed to make changes to its underwriting practices as part of a $ 550 million settlement with 33 states and the District of Columbia over subprime auto loans. The states said Santander violated consumer protection laws by placing …

The strength of GM Financial has been a bright spot for General Motors during the coronavirus crisis. GM’s captive has enough liquidity to stand largely on its own, the ability to defer existing customers’ loan payments and the power to attract new buyers with generous financing incentives. At the end …

The COVID-19 outbreak dealt a major blow to large auto lenders’ first-quarter earnings as banks deferred auto loan payments and shifted resources to shield themselves from future losses. As lenders tighten credit access to mitigate the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on their auto portfolios, finance-and-insurance managers are working overtime …

Strict shelter-in-place orders brought on by the coronavirus pandemic severely hindered profits at publicly traded U.S. megaretailers in the first quarter. But despite showroom closures, slowing vehicle sales and economic uncertainty closing out the month of March, all six public groups posted gains in finance-and-insurance profit per vehicle. Public groups …

Major U.S. auto lenders took a beating in the first quarter due to the coronavirus, though most losses cited by the top banks came from preparations for the carnage yet to come. Lenders entered crisis mode at the tail end of March when COVID-19 closures dried up auto sales and …

Household debt increased in the first quarter before the COVID-19 pandemic, driven primarily by the housing market. Debt levels across other credit products, including auto loans, dipped slightly, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday. The New York Fed noted that because individual consumer credit reports typically are …

The falling number of credit inquiries for auto loans, in the middle of a pandemic, should not shock anyone. After all, with many states under stay-at-home orders during March and people experiencing uncertain economic times, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Credit Panel’s look at how the coronavirus affected that …

Assurant, a global insurance provider that furnishes finance-and-insurance products for the automotive industry, has acquired F&I product and training company American Financial & Automotive Services in a $ 158 million deal. The move further consolidates the F&I product industry, which has seen notable merger and acquisition activity in the past …

Consumers are continuing to prioritize auto expenses ahead of other payments, a credit bureau study finds, despite record job losses and shelter-in-place orders preventing many consumers from driving beyond trips to the grocery store or to seek medical care. Those financially affected by COVID-19 closures were about twice as likely …