PLANO, Texas -

If the auto finance market is about to pivot in any direction from its current path, the National Auto Finance Association is hoping its 19th annual Non-Prime Auto Financing Conference prepares executives and managers with the information and strategy they need to make the best decisions for their organizations.

NAF Association executive director Jack Tracy acknowledged his most significant challenge when organizing this annual gathering is “keeping it fresh and relevant.” Tracy is expecting more than 400 attendees for the conference set to run from May 27 to May 29 at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center in Plano, Texas.

“The world of non-prime auto financing is always changing. As it does, you’ve got to stay on top of it. The way I look at it is you’ve got to anticipate what the people who will be attending are going to be concerned with,” Tracey said.

In light of that backdrop, Tracey contends what’s top-of-mind for finance company executives is the same as what concerns the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With the CFPB set to push consumer complaints out into the public domain, Tracey and the NAF Association arranged to fill much of the conference agenda with guidance, information and discussions about the part of the consumer credit cycle that often triggers much of those complaints.

The conference includes an afternoon track incorporating panelists representing the American Recovery Association, the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys and Debt Buyers International.

“With the way they approach their business, the CFPB puts the customer in the center,” Tracey said. “If you’re doing anything that deceives, misleads or harms the customer, that’s bad. The areas where there can be the most likelihood of the customer being unhappy is at the collection end of the business.

“I felt that the collection process, the repossession process or if a customer’s loan is sold to someone else and they begin to service it, those are the areas where there is the greatest likelihood of customers being confused, unhappy and dissatisfied,” he continued.

Tracey indicated many of the new requirements issued by the CFPB and other regulators are forcing many mainstays in the non-prime auto finance industry to work even closer with repossession agencies, collection attorneys and debt buyers.

“I wanted all sides to meet and voice their issues,” he said. “All sides need to hear from the other as to what difficulties they’re encountering under the new way things are being done.

“I’ve asked each of them to come and lay before the audience their concerns from their end as to why their business is more difficult,” Tracey continued. “They’re taking instructions from the finance companies but that creates problems, too. I want them to come and sort of air the issues out.”

That opportunity prompted each of those organizations to want to participate, according to Tracey, who added, “They agree with me that there is a need for the groups to be talking.”

Tracey shared an example of how the dialogue might unfold at the conference. Repossession agencies might have to comply with a different audit process for each of the commercial banks or finance companies within their client bases. Tracey indicated these agencies certainly want to remain compliant with federal and state mandates, but they’re also looking for a streamlined process that might help the entire industry.

“They maintain that if we could come up with a universal way to do the audit, then you don’t have to have five different deliveries and the confusion that it causes,” Tracey said.

Along with the extended discussion about collection, the NAF Association is also welcoming mainstays who have presented at its conference several times in the past, including Manheim’s Tom Webb for a look at the wholesale vehicle market and Amy Martin with Standard & Poor’s for a glimpse at the securitization scene.

“The balancing act I go through is to put emphasis on some areas, but there are also some reoccurring things that people expect to get from the conference, and you’ve got to provide those, too,” Tracey said. “Not everyone who is there is going to be concerned about collections, so I’ve got to provide programming for them, too.”

Finally, the NAF Association’s annual survey will also be shared. Dwayne Furmidge of Benchmark Consulting International will present the findings that also included input from members of the American Financial Services Association for the first time.

“Previously we’ve always topped out at about 22 to 25 respondents. This year we have 45,” Tracey said. “The report is much more robust. The findings and conclusions are more valid because the data base is much broader. It’s the most successful survey we’ve ever done. We’re very happy to have done it with AFSA.”