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COVER STORY  The auto finance industry's push for a national standard that provides specifications for auto finance electronic contracting took a major step forward when the standard received approval from an accredited standards developer for financial services. The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X9, Inc., the organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop financial services standards, voted for the new standard on May 14, culminating a six-week voting period that began April 2nd and a developmental process launched by AFSA in January 2003. The standard now moves on to its final stage: a 45-day public review period that ends on July 12.
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LATE-BREAKING NEWS: Identity Theft Legislation on its way to the White House—Legislation that establishes a new crime category and penalties for "aggravated identity theft" now goes to President Bush for his signature after clearing the Senate on June 25 and the House two days earlier.
Read AFSA's statement of support for HR 1731.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATORY AFFAIRS
AFSA, in a letter to the Federal Reserve, requested a disclosure be recommended whenever data on loan pricing is acquired from the Fed's database. The disclosure would read: "This information was gathered from a database that does not include several factors that are integral in determining the price of a loan."
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In a case that questioned whether a $29 over-limit fee on a $2,000 credit card account should be part of a "finance charge" under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling. The US Supreme Court held that over-limit fees are a penalty for violating the extension of credit, and therefore does not violate TILA.
Read the opinion of the Court, drafted by Justice Thomas
INDUSTRY
UPDATE
National/World Headlines
An innovative new home loan, the Optimum Loan Program is available immediately through Countrywide's retail division and in the near future through the company's wholesale channel. Optimum's special features enable eligible borrowers to finance a home even if special circumstances make qualifying under traditional guidelines a challenge.
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In March 31, 2003 the number of filings were for that 12 month filing were 1.574 million.
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MEETINGS/CONFERENCES
 The conference, held April 28-29 in Amsterdam, offered presentations from 14 finance companies.
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AFSA
NEWS
AFSA said it will host seminars throughout the country for the financial services industry as it gets up to speed on the many new compliance requirements for creditors under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act.
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 William M. Himpler is the American Financial Services Association's (AFSA) new senior vice president for federal government affairs, the association announced June 15.
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The October meeting of AFSA's Board of Directors in San Francisco will include two new faces: Brent Rippentrop of John Deere Credit, and Suneet Paul of Dell Financial Services.
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AFSA is pleased to announce the new chair and co-vice chairs of this committee of professional interest. George Halloran, vice president of the Global Strategic Planning for Ford Financial, will chair the committee along with co-chairs Steven Hess of Centex Home Equity and Dan Barnett of Household International.
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Standard and Poor's announcement on May 14 requiring additional credit enhancement for certain loans governed by anti-predatory lending laws could affect credit options for needy borrowers.
"S&P's decision comes as no shock—indeed we have been predicting such a reaction for some time," said AFSA president and chief executive officer Randy Lively.
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Regulatory Agency Representatives Meet with AFSA Accounting Committee
The AFSA Accounting Committee met on May 20 and 21. Speakers for this annual meeting included individuals from AICPA, Deloitte & Touche, FASB, PCAOB, Reznick Fedder & Silverman, and the SEC. The group discussed issues including the allowance for credit losses, stock compensation, PCAOB (public company accounting oversight board), SEC reporting requirements, current events at the FASB, and a Sarbanes-Oxley update.
Human Resources (HR) executives from national and independent AFSA member companies participated in the AFSA HR Committee's forum, held May 19-20 at the Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, SC. The forum's purpose was to discuss current challenges facing HR in the financial services industry.
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 Robert B. Zane received an AFSA Appreciation Award on May 11th during the opening session of the association's 2004 U.S. Finance Industry Investors Conference.
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AFSA State Government Relations will host and staff a booth at the upcoming meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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FOUNDATION
FOCUS
Positive comments stream from teachers in 40 states and two countries who have signed up for the free, online personal finance curriculum of the AFSAEF.
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 AFSAEF's free consumer guide, When Natural Disaster Strikes, has a section on help available to those unable to make payments on loans or other credit obligations in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Depending upon the situation, many creditors  may allow borrowers to skip a monthly payment (and still be considered current), offer payment deferrals and reduced loan rates, extend office hours, set up temporary locations or attempt to contact customers by telephone to provide assistance.
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22 finance companies presented at the 14th Finance Industry Conference for Fixed Income Investors on May 11-13 held in Washington, DC.
Donna Zarcone, who is also president and COO of Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. was among the speakers at the opening session for the 14th annual U.S. Finance Industry Conference for Fixed-Income Investors held in May.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana will host the 9th Auto Finance Conference & Exposition just prior to the NADA Convention (held at the New Orleans Convention Center on January 29-February 1, 2005.) Conference details will be available this Fall!
