Ally Financial announced this morning that it has begun an initial public offering of shares of its common stock. In its statement, Ally said the shares offered in the IPO will be from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, per Treasury’s planned exit of its investment in the company. The 95 million shares being offered […] [Read More]

MarkOne Holdings has chosen an over-20 year veteran of the automotive industry for its leadership team. The automotive finance holding company’s new corporate chief financial officer is Robert Bennett. Bennett will be located in the company’s corporate offices in Jacksonville, Fla., and will work with leadership for MarkOne’s three regional locations in California, Texas and […] [Read More]

Following a few months on the downward tilt, average monthly payments for leases on the road climbed last month, but this increase doesn’t appear to have put a damper on the popularity of leasing, says Swapalease.com. In an analysis released Tuesday, the site indicated that the average monthly lease payment in February for cars on […] [Read More]

It is clear that leasing is becoming more and more popular, as many recent reports would suggest, but one finding from Swapalease.com, in particular, could be quite important for the leasing community to consider: many women may not return to leasing when they go to find their next vehicle. Why? To answer the question, Swapalease […] [Read More]

When it comes to financials, dealers want partners who understand the auto business inside and out. Now, a new educational program from lending products provider NextGear Capital is training its field representatives to be those knowledgeable partners.   On Wednesday, NextGear Capital announced the creation of its Ambassador Program, which will provide certified training modules […] [Read More]

When it comes to the new-vehicle lease market, there were three brands in a close race to lead market share in the fourth quarter, according to data from Experian Automotive. Honda, which took an 11.1 percent share of the new lease market, edged out Ford (11.0 percent) and Toyota (10.6 percent). This trio was followed […] [Read More]

Swapalease.com reports lease credit approvals during the month of February were at 66.6 percent, down from the 70.5 percent level in January and 73.3 percent level in December of 2013. Officials indicated February’s rate was the lowest since September of last year when the marketplace saw just 62.9 percent approvals from credit applicants. So far […] [Read More]

With the sixth annual North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) set to begin on Thursday, industry leaders reiterated their commitments as they formed the Council of Repossession Professionals. This group consists of two members from each of the following trade groups: — Allied Finance Adjusters (AFA) — American Lenders Service Co. (ALSCO) — American Recovery Association […] [Read More]

Experian Automotive found that fourth quarter repossession rates at what analysts categorize as finance companies — operations that do not hold commercial deposits but make vehicle loans — rose to their highest point since 2010. Fourth quarter repo rates for finance companies — which often cater to subprime buyers — jumped 76.3 percent year-over-year to […] [Read More]

There will likely be just a shade under 3 million lease terminations in 2014, according to Edmunds.com, whose data indicates this would be a four-year high. Or, put a different way, “Car shoppers coming off lease will account for some additional 300,000 in new car sales over 2013, or about 40 percent of the expected […] [Read More]