SAN FRANCISCO -

As its 19th annual Vehicle Finance Conference & Exposition begins this week in San Francisco, the American Financial Services Association welcomed six new active members, one commercial member and two business partners, several with connections to the auto finance industry.

The new-member rundown includes:

— Local Finance Co. is a family-owned and operated subprime auto finance company serving franchise and independent dealers in south Florida.

— Since 1996, National Auto Lenders has been an indirect auto finance company that purchases and services retail installment contracts from independent and franchised dealers. The company operates in 12 states.

— Prestige Financial Services, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a provider of consumer financing solutions for franchised dealerships in 46 states.

— Praxis Finance was founded by two seasoned auto finance executives who are committed to the long-term goal of building a best in class organization for consumers, dealers, employees and investors. Praxis is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, and just secured $100 million in capital.

— The Prestwick Lending Group provides short-term financing to independent distributors of the food service industry that wish to purchase their vehicle at the end of their lease term. Prestwick Lending is headquartered in Atlanta.

— Sunset Management is a family business operating since 2001, offering direct and indirect installment loans. The company has 28 branches in Georgia and 11 in South Carolina with 125 total employees.

— TAG Financial Services Co. is a subprime auto finance company working with dealer partners in Georgia since February of last year.

The pair of business partners include:

— ALS Resolvion, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is a leading skip-tracing and repossession management firm, capable of handling virtually any recovery assignment for virtually any type of equipment.

— Sigma Payment Solutions offers a comprehensive suite of automated payment processing services, solutions, and technology to businesses nationwide from its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

AuctionCredit joined AFSA as a commercial member. AuctionCredit provides floorplan financing programs to independent dealers in Texas.

The newest additions plus other AFSA members with interest in auto financing will be at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco starting on Tuesday for the Vehicle Finance Conference.

The conference will feature a keynote address on people-powered innovation by Robin Chase, who is the founder and former chief executive officer of ZipCar and current CEO of Buzzcar.  Top leaders will discuss challenges and opportunities for 2015 during the CEO Panel and the top finance and dealer issues session with AFSA Vehicle Finance Division Chair Joy Falotico and 2015 NADA Chairman Bill Fox.

Additional sessions will address cyber security, consumer-driven innovation and managing talent in the digital age.

AFSA noted the exhibit hall is sold out with more than 50 companies.

The complete agenda and more can be found at www.vehiclefinanceconference.com.

Editor’s Note: Future issues of SubPrime News Update will contain features stemming from what industry leaders share at the Vehicle Finance Conference.