The CLA Quarterly Automotive Roundtable is made up of innovative automotive lenders in Canada.

Participating Companies include: AutoCapital Canada, Axis Auto Finance, Carfinco, iA Auto Finance, Carma Auto Finance, Canada Drives, Rifco, LendCare,  NextGear, CWB Financial Group, Rentugo, Autoloans as well as major banks including BMO, CIBC, RBC and Scotiabank.

The goal of this invite-only group is to work on strategies to advance innovative processes that promote credit access to consumers across the lending spectrum. A new leadership forum to explore ways to optimize business processes and digital tools, the CLA Roundtable will meet once every three months to discuss issues facing the sector and trends that will help lenders best respond to changes, challenges and opportunities.

FinTech-forward automotive lending is poised to reinvent the car purchase experience. Covid, as in most industries, has advanced online purchasing. The car buyer path-to-purchase now involves online pre-qualification tools. The Canadian Lenders Association round table will serve as a leadership forum to explore ways to continue to optimize business processes and digital tools.

Topics of discussion include:

1. Industry Debrief: How Auto Lenders are Adapting to a Post-Pandemic World
   • How does the subprime candidate differ from other loan candidates?
   • How can auto lenders attract more diverse elements of the underbanked
     population?
2. Priming the Industry for Digital Disruption
   • Are there any drawbacks towards digitizing the car buying experience?
   • How can the e-signature and e-vaulting process work more seamlessly with
     Fintech?
   • How have auto lenders adapted to this shift in consumer preferences?
   • How can Fintechs corner the market on digital transactions?
3. Best Practices for Underwriting Loans
   • What integrated technologies are best at speeding up loan transactions?
   • Can lenders use blockchain to allow for smoother transactions and easier funding?
4. How Lenders Should Prepare for the Launch of Consumer-Directed Finance
   • How can access to open source data improve the underwriting process of the
     future?
   • How can Fintechs ensure private information is secure if the industry moves
     towards more open regulations in terms of customer data?
5. The Pros & Cons of Partnership
   • How do Fintechs see their relationship with dealers evolving as auto lending trends more
     towards online retail?
   • How can banks and Fintechs work together to finance consumer lease transactions? What
     are some structures that can be put in place to protect both parties (i.e banks and
     Fintechs)?
   • For commercial transactions: can residuals greater than 25% be funded by banks when
     working with a Fintech?
6. Avenues to Innovation
   • What are some ways Fintechs can provide a more customized experience?
   • Can BNPL services help auto lenders further their business interests?
   • What does the auto lending space look like in the next five, ten years?
7. The Future of Auto Lending
   • How do you foresee car ownership will change in the future? For example, will there be a
     rise in subscription financing as a lending model in the future?
   • How can Fintech innovation optimize the electric vehicle industry?

Jonathan Fleisher (Cassels) has joined the committee as a data and legal resource.

Visit the CLA’s Calendar to discover how you can get involved with the Automotive Roundtable.

Please note: it is important that CLA members do not engage, under the auspices of the CLA, in coordinated behaviors or practices that restrict competition or target competitors who are not members of the CLA. It is critical that CLA staff and CLA members abide by these guidelines which are designed to avoid not only actual wrongdoing but also the appearance of wrongdoing. To that effect, CLA members should generally refrain from sharing with each other any confidential sensitive commercial information such as pricing, capacity, expansion, business plans etc. Should a member have any questions or concerns, please contact Dean Velentzas, Head of Policy.