Automotive News
The National Automotive Financing Association, a trade group for nonprime auto lenders, has launched its certification program for auto lender employees who monitor compliance of dealerships and others with state and federal regulations.
The association tied the new Consumer Credit Compliance Certification training course directly to new requirements from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The CFPB said this year it expects lenders to have a “compliance management system” that, among other things, closely monitors finance contracts originated at dealerships to make sure legally protected classes, including minorities, pay the same amount of dealer reserve as everyone else.
The association said that getting employees certified can be important because it demonstrates to the CFPB that the lender is putting a priority on compliance.
For auto lender employees, the concept behind the certification program is analogous to certification by the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals for dealership employees, according to Jack Tracey, NAF Association executive director.
The NAF Association announced it June it would start up the certification program by the fall. Registration is available now for classes that begin in January. The complete program takes about 35 hours to finish and includes in-person and online training, the association said.
The certification program is co-sponsored by the Hudson Cook law firm in Hanover, Md., where the NAF Association is based. The association is a client of the law firm, whose practice specializes in consumer financial services law.