F&I and Showroom, August 2013

Developments Senate Confi rms Richard Cordray as CFPB Director RICHARD CORDRAY resumed his role as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after the U S Senate confi rmed in mid July that the bureau will continue operating under a single director structure ending efforts by Republicans to elect a bi partisan board of directors for heightened transparency and accountability President Barack Obama praised lawmakers decision during a press conference for Cordray explaining his intent behind starting the CFPB was to get a consumer watchdog on the job to look out for the interests of everyday Americans Cordray released a statement that read in part For nearly two years we have been focused on making consumer fi nance markets work better for the American people Todays action brings added certainty to the industries we oversee and reinforces our responsibility to stand on the side of consumers and see that they are treated fairly in the fi nancial marketplace Dealer Retracts Federal Birth Control Suit DAYS BEFORE THE MANDATE WAS SET TO KICK in on July 1 under the Affordable Care Act Joe Holland fi led a lawsuit asking a federal court to exempt his West Virginia based Joe Holland Chevrolet from having to include certain birth control in its employee health benefi ts package Holland claims the morning after pill confl icts with his Christian beliefs At the time his attorney Jeremy Dys told local TV station WSAZ that the governments new healthcare law would penalize Holland for simply doing business according to his values Just weeks following the initial fi ling Holland fi led a petition to withdraw the suit According to court documents the plaintiffs learned that their current insurance covers the objectionable drugs 8 F I and Showroom August 2013 Edmunds Sues Company Posting Fake Reviews E dmunds fi led a lawsuit in late July charging Humankind Design Ltd an online reputation management company based in Texas of registering 2200 fake accounts and attempting to submit reviews on behalf of 25 dealers nationwide Humankind Owner Justin Anderson denied the charges We dont write the reviews or invent the reviews he said Were posting to our knowledge a bona fi de review According to Edmunds general counsel Ken Levin 76 fake reviews linked to Humankind were detected by human screeners prior to making it onto the companys website Edmunds seeks injunctive relief which would prohibit Humankind from submitting additional registrations or reviews to the site Litigation is pending Santander Confi rms IPO Plans SANTANDER CONSUMER USA CONFIRMED IN A JULY 3 FILING with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC its intention to raise at least 50 million in an initial public offering Reports regarding the companys IPO plan surfaced in May Our primary goal is to create stockholder value by leveraging our systems data liquidity and management the fi ling read Our growth strategy is to increase market penetration in the consumer fi nance industry while deploying our capital and funding effi ciently