State and federal regulatory activity and concerns over what the results of the 2020 presidential election might mean for the auto industry were hot topics at the American Financial Services Association conference this week in Las Vegas.
Auto lender and dealer eyes are on Washington regarding topics such as stagnation on changes to the Military Lending Act, the rise of state-level consumer financial protection bureaus and who will occupy the White House next year.
Danielle Fagre Arlowe, senior vice president at AFSA, said concern about the Military Lending Act dominates dealer discussions, while state-level consumer protection bureaus could also cause trouble for auto retailers.
California's so-called "mini-CFPB" plans to partially fund its actions through enforcement activities, Arlowe said, which AFSA finds troubling.
"There's a built-in incentive to have enforcement actions regardless of what's going on in the ind…