Auto lending

CEO Jeffrey Brown spent much of the firm's quarterly earnings call Tuesday responding to the demands of shareholders who are unhappy with Ally's weak stock price.

The public focus on whether Ally should pursue a sale has obscured other issues being raised by the firm's unhappy shareholders.

The Minnesota company's management team expressed confidence in its ability to monitor risk, even as companies such as BB&T and Fifth Third issue warnings over pricing and returns.

TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., reported higher profits on lower provision costs and a pickup in lending in the fourth quarter.

Chargeoffs jumped 13% at the Dallas lender, and its warning that they could increase further because of deterioration in subprime auto lending set off alarm bells about the broader consumer finance market.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in profits, due to losses tied to its exit from personal lending.

The way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is regulating the auto finance industry's relationships with dealers is simply wrong — both legally and ethically — according to Blair Evans of Baker Donelson. It's also directly counterproductive to its goal of protecting consumers, she says.

At least five regional banks on Thursday discarded concerns about the global economy, stocks, interest rates and credit quality, forecasting loan growth for the rest of this year.

The House Financial Services Committee argues that the CFPB ignored a Justice Department request to narrow the list of potential consumers harmed in the Ally case, purposely casting a wider net for political purposes.

Overlapping missions and jurisdictions are fueling competition between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, according to former officials at both agencies.