creditChrysler's outlook raised to positive from stable by S&P 6:39 pm U.S. ET | April 30, 2013  Chrysler Group may get an upgrade in its credit rating in the next 12 months, said Standard and Poor's, which raised Chrysler's outlook Tuesday to "positive" from "stable." S&P changed its outlook on the company to positive even after Chrysler posted a 65-percent drop in first quarter profit.... Read More »
Ford seeks more pension stability after funding shortfall widens 12:34 am U.S. ET | March 16, 2013  Ford, moving to close a growing deficit in its pension funding, will shift more of its plan's assets to fixed income to shield against changes in interest rates.... Read More »
Renault-Nissan, UniCredit create Russia finance ventureFeb. 14, 2013 15:50 CET  Renault-Nissan will create a joint venture with Italian bank UniCredit to sell loans to car buyers in Russia. The alliance will have a 60 percent stake in the venture, while UniCredit will hold 40 percent, the companies said in a joint statement.... Read More »
Former Ford executive Kenneth Merrill dies at 82 3:05 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 25, 2013 Kenneth Merrill, a former Ford Motor and Ford Credit executive, died Jan. 22 in Livonia, Mich. He was 82.... Read More »
France seeks EU approval for PSA aid, report saysJan. 9, 2013 10:09 CET  The French government has officially sought approval from the European Union for its 7 billion euro ($9.2 billion) state loan guarantee for PSA's financing arm, a French newspaper reported today.... Read More »
Fiat rebuts report that it will raise funds for Chrysler buyDec. 14, 2012 10:40 CET  Fiat rebutted a report that it was set to raise money to finance its purchase of a further stake in Chrysler, saying it had no need for extra funds.... Read More »
Hyundai Capital America seeking $1.2 billion credit line 2:56 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 21, 2012 Hyundai Capital America, the U.S. auto finance unit of Hyundai Motor Co., has asked banks for proposals for a new $1.2 billion three-year revolving credit line.... Read More »
JIM HENRY F&I’s biggest boogeyman 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 31, 2012  Halloween is a good time to inventory the monsters under the F&I bed. Shining a flashlight under there, we see that credit availability is good. Interest rates are low. The economy is slowly improving. Even housing seems finally to be recovering. No real monsters there.... Read More »
JIM HENRY More credit checks mean more loans 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 24, 2012  Here’s a chicken-or-egg question: Do people check their credit because they want a loan, or do they want a loan because they check their credit?... Read More »
Akerson: GM wants investment-grade interest rate for expanded credit line 10:21 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012  GM, which has junk credit ratings, aims to double its revolving credit line to $10 billion at the same interest rates as if it were an investment-grade company, CEO Dan Akerson said.... Read More »
Ford Credit says longtime CEO Bannister will retire 4:19 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012 Ford Motor Credit CEO Mike Bannister will retire after 39 years, Ford said today. Bernard Silverstone, Ford Credit’s COO since January, will succeed Bannister, effective Jan. 1.... Read More »
JIM HENRY A reason to cheer the CFPB 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 3, 2012  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given auto lenders a lot to worry about in the past year, though so far, its bark has been a lot worse than its bite.... Read More »
U.S. policies promoting electric cars to cost $7.5 billion by 2019 6:16 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 20, 2012  U.S. federal policies to promote electric vehicles will cost $7.5 billion through 2019 and have "little to no impact" on overall national gasoline consumption over the next several years, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report issued on Thursday. Consumer tax credits for buying electric vehicles, which can run as high as $7,500 per vehicle, will account for about 25 percent of the $7.5 billion cost, the CBO said.... Read More »
Auto lending on the rise, but with caution, study says 9:52 am U.S. ET | Sept. 4, 2012 Auto lenders aren’t quite throwing "caution to the winds," even though they made bigger loans, at lower interest rates, and approved customers with lower average credit scores in the second quarter of 2012, according to Experian Automotive.... Read More »
JIM HENRY How many would-be ID thieves bolt? We may never know 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 29, 2012  It’s odd that there aren’t a lot of statistics around documenting whether the Red Flags Rule is working.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Consumer confidence is sales 'wild card' 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 22, 2012  Toyota's Bob Carter, told attendees at a JPMorgan Chase & Co. auto conference in New York last week that there's "plenty of credit." Pent-up demand and low interest rates are also positive factors, he said. That leaves consumer confidence as the missing ingredient to a full recovery.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Sell more service contracts? That may get tough 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 15, 2012  Is the glass 40 percent full, or is it 60 percent empty? Perhaps it's neither. A couple of the publicly traded new-vehicle retailers reported their extended-service contract penetration was around 40 percent for the second quarter -- specifically, Group 1 Automotive and Lithia Motors Inc. The other public groups don't usually break out detailed F&I numbers.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Bad loans spell good news for dealers 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 8, 2012  Good news for dealerships: Credit losses are set to increase from historic lows. Why is that good news? It means lenders are approving more subprime loans, something dealers have wanted.... Read More »
Ford Credit, citing tropical storm, allows Florida customers to delay payments 4:06 pm U.S. ET | July 27, 2012 Ford Motor Credit said today that will it allow Florida customers affected by Tropical Storm Debby to delay some car and truck payments.... Read More »
Daimler debt is most popular for credit-linked notes this yearJuly 27, 2012 06:01 CET  Daimler is the company whose debt is most frequently linked by structured notes this year. Banks led by Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg and DZ Bank AG sold $518 million of securities tied to the world's third-largest maker of luxury vehicles.... Read More »
Public dealer groups seen posting higher Q2 sales, profits 5:40 pm U.S. ET | July 10, 2012 The outlook is good for strong sales and earnings for the publicly traded dealership groups when they report second-quarter results later this month, a Wells Fargo analyst said Tuesday.... Read More »
JIM HENRY A case for face-to-face F&I 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 20, 2012  Customers may not always like the F&I experience at dealerships -- the phrase “getting a tooth pulled” tends to come up -- but there’s something to be said for sitting across from an actual person instead of buying complicated financial products online or from a voice over the phone.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Banks’ lending lead starts down the street 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 13, 2012  Captive finance companies seem to dominate auto lending because individual captives are so big. There are some giant banks in auto lending too, such as Chase Auto Finance in new vehicles and Wells Fargo Dealer Services in used.... Read More »
JIM HENRY When will subprime season peak? 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 6, 2012  Here's a possible wet blanket on the comeback in subprime loans, at least in the short run: The peak season for subprime loans is usually over once tax-return season ends.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Dealers can't slide on customer credit-score notices 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 30, 2012  A federal judge in Washington said last week that dealers must continue to provide notices to consumers about the use of credit scores in setting interest rates. That includes dealers who don't even look at the credit scores.... Read More »
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