Company: ATLCL
Filing Date: 2025-08-07
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001437749-25-025502
Chunk: 97

Company: Atlanticus Holdings Corp
Filing Date: 2025-08-07
Form: 10-Q
Item: Item 8
Chunk 97
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 Heavily Regulated Industry

Changes in bankruptcy, privacy or other consumer protection laws, or to the prevailing interpretation thereof, may expose us to litigation, adversely affect our ability to collect receivables, or otherwise adversely affect our operations. Similarly, regulatory changes could adversely affect the ability or willingness of lenders who utilize our technology platform and related services to market credit products and services to consumers. Also, the accounting rules that apply to our business are exceedingly complex, difficult to apply and in a state of flux. As a result, how we value our receivables and otherwise account for our business is subject to change depending upon the changes in, and interpretation of, those rules. Some of these issues are discussed more fully below.

Reviews and enforcement actions by regulatory authorities under banking and consumer protection laws and regulations may result in changes to our business practices, may make collection of receivables more difficult or may expose us to the risk of fines, restitution and litigation. Our operations and the operations of the issuing banks through which the credit products we service are originated are subject to the jurisdiction of federal, state and local government authorities, including the SEC, the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FTC, state regulators having jurisdiction over financial institutions and debt origination and collection and state attorneys general. Our business practices and the practices of issuing banks, including the terms of products, servicing and collection practices, are subject to both periodic and special reviews by these regulatory and enforcement authorities. These reviews can range from investigations of specific consumer complaints or concerns to broader inquiries. If as part of these reviews the regulatory authorities conclude that we or issuing banks are not complying with applicable law, they could request or impose a wide range of remedies including requiring changes in advertising and collection practices, changes in the terms of products (such as decreases in interest rates or fees), the imposition of fines or penalties, or the paying of restitution or the taking of other remedial action with respect to affected consumers. They also could require us or issuing banks to stop offering some credit products or obtain licenses to do so, either nationally or in select states. To the extent that these remedies are imposed on the issuing banks that originate credit products using our platform, under certain circumstances we are responsible for the remedies as a result of our indemnification obligations with those banks. We or our issuing banks also may elect to change practices that we believe are compliant with law in order to respond to regulatory concerns. Furthermore, negative publicity relating to any specific inquiry or investigation could hurt our ability to conduct