Credit Acceptance Corp. Keeping “Close Eye” on CFPB
In its second quarter earnings call, Credit Acceptance Corp. noted that its relationships with industry associations have kept it up to speed on looming regulations.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Associations are playing a key role in helping Credit Acceptance Corp. navigate the regulatory landscape, with officials telling investors during the company’s quarterly investor call that they are comfortable with where the company is in terms of complying with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s requirements.
Chief Executive Officer Brett Roberts noted the added expense of meeting the CFPB’s mandates, but said he’s not worried about falling short because Credit Acceptance Corp. is keeping a “close eye on it.”
“We are used to regulation, we are regulated in all 50 states and so we are used to dealing with state regulators,” Roberts said. “This is obviously something new. We have had a good long look at it and we are comfortable where we are from a compliance perspective.
“We are dialed into the industry associations and we're certainly in the right circles to be first in line to understand if there are any new expectations for companies in our industry, and to make sure that we comply with those expectations.”
As for the company’s quarterly performance, the special finance source reported a consolidated net income of $61.5 million, or $2.56 per diluted share, for the quarter that ended June 30, compared to consolidated net income of $56.6 million, or $2.18 per diluted share, for the same period in 2012.
For the six months ended June 30, 2013, consolidated net income was $122.1 million, or $5.04 per diluted share, compared to consolidated net income of $106.9 million, or $4.10 per diluted share, for the same period in 2012.
“Positive growth for the first six months in a difficult environment and strong returns. We are OK with that, given where we are in the cycle,” Roberts said.
The company reported that it originated 48,706 loans through 4,484 active dealers during the second quarter of 2013. Unit and dollar volumes increased 2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
“The percent of our originations that consist of dealer loans has been pretty consistent now for a couple of years,” said Douglas Busk, CFO. “Over 90 percent of the business that we've originated for the last couple of years has consisted of dealer loans, and that was true this quarter.”
Of the uptick in active dealers for the quarter, Roberts said he sees potential for more growth.
“I think we have a small market share. There are a lot of dealers that would do well on our program, that are not on our program currently, so we feel like we have a big market out there. We do have a bigger sales force than we had a year ago and we just continue to sign up dealers at a pretty good clip.”
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