Overview
The term "consumer finance" simply means any loan or finance arrangement with a consumer. Most consumer finance is provided by banks, credit unions, retail sellers and sales finance companies. Consumer finance includes both open end and closed end credit sales of consumer goods and services.

Open end or "revolving" credit transactions generally take the form of a credit card purchase. The credit is open-ended because it allows the consumer to make additional purchases, and to carry the balance or debt incurred for an open period of time, so long as the minimum payments are made as agreed between the parties. In technical terms, this means that finance charges can be computed from time to time on the outstanding unpaid balance.

Alternatively, closed end credit generally utilizes a fixed finance charge, and the customer is required to pay the debt off in regular payments, over a set amount of time. The closed end transaction may take the form of a student loan, a mortgage on a borrower's home, a retail installment contract or simply a sales slip and an agreement to take back the purchase price in installment payments.

Consumer finance transactions are governed by a large and complicated web of interacting state and federal regulations, the most well known of which are the federal Truth in Lending Act (often referred to as "TILA") and the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (often referred to as "RESPA").

Our Services
Johanson Berenson LLP provides a full range of specialized services relating to consumer finance. The Firm's attorneys are recognized as leading experts in consumer finance and have published and lectured extensively on various areas of consumer finance. Some of the specialized services we provide for clients in the consumer finance arena are as follows:

Licensing

Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnering Relationships

Industry Introduction and Expansion

Quality and Customer Control

Litigation

Operational