Newsroom

February 04, 2016

Warren: CFPB needs authority over auto dealers

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told an advocacy group Wednesday that CFPB should have direct oversight of auto dealers rather than going through indirect auto lenders to address the market, American Banker reported.

"Right now the car loan market looks increasingly like the pre-crisis housing market, lots of predatory lending, discriminatory practices, increasing repossessions," she said during an event sponsored by advocacy group Better Markets. "While CFPB has oversight over mortgages and credit cards and checking accounts, it doesn't have complete oversight of the car loan market."

Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said CFPB should be given "oversight of deceptive car loans."

Earlier this week, CFPB and the Justice Department announced a $21.9 million settlement with indirect auto lender Toyota Motor Credit. The company will be required to pay $21.9 million in restitution to minority borrowers who CFPB alleges were made to pay higher interest rates on auto loans than white borrowers without regard to creditworthiness.

The bureau does not have direct supervisory authority over auto dealers under the Dodd-Frank Act.

NAFCU supports fair lending but has raised concerns about the level of objectivity employed in the bureau's methodology for identifying violations.