Auto Finance Regulators Not Falling Asleep at the Wheel

Abstract

This is the annual survey of major legal and regulatory developments affecting the automobile financing. The survey is part of the larger annual survey of legal developments by the American Bar Association's Committee on Consumer Financial Services. This year’s auto finance survey reports on a large multistate settlement with a lender over its unfair and deceptive practices in financing automobile retail installment contracts and an FTC enforcement action against an auto dealership for racial discrimination. A multistate attorney general coalition dealt with alleged predatory practices involving the return of leased vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other state law developments.

Keywords: consumer law, consumer protection law, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, automobile financing, unfair and deceptive trade practices, Federal Trade Commission, fair lending, COVID-19

JEL Classification: K2, K22, K23, K42, K19, K29, K39