The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“generally accepted accounting principles” or “GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of actual results achieved for full fiscal years. The consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 for Credit Acceptance Corporation (the “Company”, “Credit Acceptance”, “we”, “our” or “us”).

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

We have evaluated events and transactions occurring subsequent to the consolidated balance sheet date of JuneSeptember 30, 2021 for items that could potentially be recognized or disclosed in these financial statements. For additional information regarding subsequent events, see Note 16.

Since 1972, Credit Acceptance has offered financing programs that enable automobile dealers to sell vehicles to consumers, regardless of their credit history. Our financing programs are offered through a nationwide network of automobile dealers who benefit from sales of vehicles to consumers who otherwise could not obtain financing; from repeat and referral sales generated by these same customers; and from sales to customers responding to advertisements for our financing programs, but who actually end up qualifying for traditional financing.

Without our financing programs, consumers are often unable to purchase vehicles or they purchase unreliable ones. Further, as we report to the three national credit reporting agencies, an important ancillary benefit of our programs is that we provide consumers with an opportunity to improve their lives by improving their credit score and move on to more traditional sources of financing.

We refer to automobile dealers who participate in our programs and who share our commitment to changing consumers’ lives as “Dealers”. Upon enrollment in our financing programs, the Dealer enters into a Dealer servicing agreement with us that defines the legal relationship between Credit Acceptance and the Dealer. The Dealer servicing agreement assigns the responsibilities for administering, servicing, and collecting the amounts due on retail installment contracts (referred to as “Consumer Loans”) from the Dealers to us. We are an indirect lender from a legal perspective, meaning the Consumer Loan is originated by the Dealer and assigned to us.

As payment for the vehicle, the Dealer generally receives the following:

We record the amount advanced to the Dealer as a Dealer Loan, which is classified within Loans receivable in our consolidated balance sheets. Cash advanced to the Dealer is automatically assigned to the Dealer’s open pool of advances. Dealers make an election as to how many Consumer Loans (either 50 or 100) will be assigned to an open pool before it is closed, and subsequent advances are assigned to a new pool. Unless we receive a request from the Dealer to keep a pool open, we automatically close each pool based on the Dealer's election. All advances within a Dealer’s pool are secured by the future collections on the related Consumer Loans assigned to the pool. For Dealers with more than one pool, the pools are cross-collateralized so the performance of other pools is considered in determining eligibility for Dealer Holdback. We perfect our security interest with respect to the Dealer Loans by obtaining control or taking possession of the Consumer Loans, which list us as lien holder on the vehicle title.

The Dealer servicing agreement provides that collections received by us during a calendar month on Consumer Loans assigned by a Dealer are applied on a pool-by-pool basis as follows:

If the collections on Consumer Loans from a Dealer’s pool are not sufficient to repay the advance balance and any other amounts due to us, the Dealer will not receive Dealer Holdback. Certain events may also result in Dealers forfeiting their rights to Dealer Holdback, including becoming inactive before assigning 100 Consumer Loans.

Dealers have an opportunity to receive an accelerated Dealer Holdback payment each time a pool of Consumer Loans is closed. The amount paid to the Dealer is calculated using a formula that considers the number of Consumer Loans assigned to the pool and the related forecasted collections and advance balance.

Since typically the combination of the advance and the consumer’s down payment provides the Dealer with a cash profit at the time of sale, the Dealer’s risk in the Consumer Loan is limited. We cannot demand repayment of the advance from the Dealer except in the event the Dealer is in default of the Dealer servicing agreement. Advances are made only after the consumer and Dealer have signed a Consumer Loan contract, we have received the executed Consumer Loan contract and supporting documentation in either physical or electronic form, and we have approved all of the related stipulations for funding. 

For accounting purposes, the transactions described under the Portfolio Program are not considered to be loans to consumers. Instead, our accounting reflects that of a lender to the Dealer. The classification as a Dealer Loan for accounting purposes is primarily a result of (1) the Dealer’s financial interest in the Consumer Loan and (2) certain elements of our legal relationship with the Dealer.

The Purchase Program differs from our Portfolio Program in that the Dealer receives a one-time payment from us at the time of assignment to purchase the Consumer Loan instead of a cash advance at the time of assignment and future Dealer Holdback payments. For accounting purposes, the transactions described under the Purchase Program are considered to be originated by the Dealer and then purchased by us.

Dealers may enroll in our Portfolio Program without incurring an enrollment fee. Access to the Purchase Program is typically only granted to Dealers that meet one of the following:

Our business is seasonal with peak Consumer Loan assignments and collections occurring during the first quarter of the year.  This seasonality has a material impact on our interim results, as we are required to recognize a significant provision for credit losses expense at the time of assignment. For additional information, see Note 3.

We currently operate in 1 reportable segment which represents our core business of offering financing programs that enable Dealers to sell vehicles to consumers, regardless of their credit history. The consolidated financial statements reflect the financial results of our 1 reportable operating segment.

Cash equivalents consist of readily marketable securities with original maturities at the date of acquisition of three months or less. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $382.4$13.0 million and $15.7 million, respectively, in cash and cash equivalents that were not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”).

Restricted cash and cash equivalents consist of cash pledged as collateral for secured financings and cash held in a trust for future vehicle service contract claims. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $474.2$426.0 million and $376.9 million, respectively, in restricted cash and cash equivalents that were not insured by the FDIC.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents reported in our consolidated balance sheets to the total shown in our consolidated statements of cash flows:

Restricted securities available for sale consist of amounts held in a trust for future vehicle service contract claims. We determine the appropriate classification of our investments in debt securities at the time of purchase and reevaluate such determinations at each balance sheet date. Debt securities for which we do not have the intent or ability to hold to maturity are classified as available for sale, and stated at fair value with unrealized gains and losses, net of income taxes included in the determination of comprehensive income and reported as a component of shareholders’ equity.

For accounting and financial reporting purposes, a Consumer Loan is considered to have been assigned to us after the following has occurred:

Each portfolio segment consists of one class of Consumer Loan assignments, which is Consumer Loans originated by Dealers to finance purchases of vehicles and related ancillary products by consumers with impaired or limited credit histories. Our determination is based on the following:

Under the PCD Method, on January 1, 2020, we:

Under the PCD Method, for each reporting period subsequent to the adoption of CECL, we:

Consumer Loans assigned to us on or subsequent to January 1, 2020 do not qualify for the PCD Method and are accounted for as originated financial assets (“Originated Method”). While the cash flows we expect to collect at the time of assignment are significantly lower than the contractual cash flows owed to us due to credit quality, our Loans do not qualify for the PCD Method because the assignment of the Consumer Loan to us occurs a moment after the Consumer Loan is originated by the Dealer, so “a more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination” has not occurred at the time of assignment. In addition, Dealer Loans also do not qualify for the PCD Method because Consumer Loans assigned to us under the Portfolio Program are considered to be advances under Dealer Loans originated by us rather than Consumer Loans purchased by us.

Under the Originated Method, at the time of assignment, we:

The outstanding balance of each Loan included in Loans receivable is comprised of the following:

Under our Portfolio Program, certain events may result in Dealers forfeiting their rights to Dealer Holdback. We transfer the Dealer’s outstanding Dealer Loan balance and the related allowance for credit losses balance to Purchased Loans in the period this forfeiture occurs. We aggregate these Purchased Loans by Dealer for purposes of recognizing revenue and measuring credit losses.

Expected future collections are forecasted for each individual Consumer Loan based on the historical performance of Consumer Loans with similar characteristics, adjusted for recent trends in payment patterns and economic conditions. Our forecast of expected future collections includes estimates for prepayments and post-contractual-term cash flows. Unless the consumer is no longer contractually obligated to pay us, we forecast future collections on each Consumer Loan for a 120 month period after the origination date. Expected future Dealer Holdback payments are forecasted for each individual Dealer based on the expected future collections and current advance balance of each Dealer Loan.

We fully write off the outstanding balances of a Loan and the related allowance for credit losses once we are no longer forecasting any expected future net cash flows on the Loan. Under our partial write-off policy, we write off the amount of the outstanding balances of a Loan and the related allowance for credit losses, if any, that exceeds 200% of the present value of expected future net cash flows on the Loan, as we deem this amount to be uncollectable.

We monitor and evaluate the credit quality of Consumer Loans on a monthly basis by comparing our current forecasted collection rates to our initial expectations. We use a statistical model that considers a number of credit quality indicators to estimate the expected collection rate for each Consumer Loan at the time of assignment. The credit quality indicators considered in our model include attributes contained in the consumer’s credit bureau report, data contained in the consumer’s credit application, the structure of the proposed transaction, vehicle information and other factors. We continue to evaluate the expected collection rate of each Consumer Loan subsequent to assignment primarily through the monitoring of consumer payment behavior. Our evaluation becomes more accurate as the Consumer Loans age, as we use actual performance data in our forecast. Since all known, significant credit quality indicators have already been factored into our forecasts and pricing, we are not able to use any specific credit quality indicators to predict or explain variances in actual performance from our initial expectations. Any variances in performance from our initial expectations are the result of Consumer Loans performing differently from historical Consumer Loans with similar characteristics. We periodically adjust our statistical pricing model for new trends that we identify through our evaluation of these forecasted collection rate variances.

When overall forecasted collection rates underperform our initial expectations, the decline in forecasted collections has a more adverse impact on the profitability of the Purchased Loans than on the profitability of the Dealer Loans. For Purchased Loans, the decline in forecasted collections is absorbed entirely by us. For Dealer Loans, the decline in the forecasted collections is substantially offset by a decline in forecasted payments of Dealer Holdback.

We provide Dealers the ability to offer vehicle service contracts to consumers through our relationships with Third Party Providers (“TPPs”). A vehicle service contract provides the consumer protection by paying for the repair or replacement of certain components of the vehicle in the event of a mechanical failure. The retail price of the vehicle service contract is included in the principal balance of the Consumer Loan. The wholesale cost of the vehicle service contract is paid to the TPP, net of an administrative fee retained by us. The difference between the wholesale cost and the retail price to the consumer is paid to the Dealer as a commission. Under the Portfolio Program, the wholesale cost of the vehicle service contract and the commission paid to the Dealer are charged to the Dealer’s advance balance. TPPs process claims on vehicle service contracts that are underwritten by third party insurers. We bear the risk of loss for claims on certain vehicle service contracts that are reinsured by us. We market the vehicle service contracts directly to our Dealers.

We provide Dealers the ability to offer Guaranteed Asset Protection (“GAP”) to consumers through our relationships with TPPs. GAP provides the consumer protection by paying the difference between the loan balance and the amount covered by the consumer’s insurance policy in the event of a total loss of the vehicle due to severe damage or theft. The retail price of GAP is included in the principal balance of the Consumer Loan. The wholesale cost of GAP is paid to the TPP, net of an administrative fee retained by us. The difference between the wholesale cost and the retail price to the consumer is paid to the Dealer as a commission. Under the Portfolio Program, the wholesale cost of GAP and the commission paid to the Dealer are charged to the Dealer’s advance balance. TPPs process claims on GAP contracts that are underwritten by third party insurers.

Program fees represent monthly fees charged to Dealers for access to our Credit Approval Processing System (“CAPS”); administration, servicing and collection services offered by us; documentation related to or affecting our program; and all tangible and intangible property owned by Credit Acceptance. We charge a monthly fee of $599 to Dealers participating in our Portfolio Program and we collect it from future Dealer Holdback payments. 

In connection with the adoption of CECL on January 1, 2020, we have elected to report the change in the present value of credit losses attributable to the passage of time as a reduction to finance charges. As a result, we allocate finance charges recognized on each Loan between the Loan receivable and the related allowance for credit losses. The amount of finance charges allocated to the Loan receivable is equal to the effective interest rate applied to the Loans receivable balance. The reduction of finance charges allocated to the allowance for credit losses is equal to the effective interest rate applied to the allowance for credit losses balance.

VSC Re Company (“VSC Re”), our wholly-owned subsidiary, is engaged in the business of reinsuring coverage under vehicle service contracts sold to consumers by Dealers on vehicles financed by us. VSC Re currently reinsures vehicle service contracts that are offered through one of our third party providers. Vehicle service contract premiums, which represent the selling price of the vehicle service contract to the consumer, less fees and certain administrative costs, are contributed to a trust account controlled by VSC Re. These premiums are used to fund claims covered under the vehicle service contracts. VSC Re is a bankruptcy remote entity. As such, our exposure to fund claims is limited to the trust assets controlled by VSC Re and our net investment in VSC Re.

Premiums from the reinsurance of vehicle service contracts are recognized over the life of the policy in proportion to expected costs of servicing those contracts. Expected costs are determined based on our historical claims experience. Claims are expensed through a provision for claims in the period the claim was incurred. Capitalized acquisition costs are comprised of premium taxes and are amortized as general and administrative expense over the life of the contracts in proportion to premiums earned.

We have consolidated the trust within our financial statements based on our determination of the following:

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments for which it is practicable to estimate their value.

A comparison of the carrying amount and estimated fair value of these financial instruments is as follows:

Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. We group assets and liabilities at fair value in three levels, based on the markets in which the assets and liabilities are traded and the reliability of the assumptions used to determine fair value. These levels are:

The following table provides the level of measurement used to determine the fair value for each of our financial instruments measured or disclosed at fair value: