Dundon’s Subprime Past Faces Heat in Portland Arena Deal

ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting report that incoming Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon was a key driver in Santander Consumer USA’s 2013 push to waive income-verification (POI) for car loans, a move regulators later described as predatory and harmful in a 2020 multistate settlement. New records connect Dundon to these tactics even after leaving Santander in 2015, while Oregon lawmakers consider about $870 million in public funding to renovate the Moda Center, prompting questions about taxpayer exposure given his regulatory history; Dundon did not comment ahead of the deal closing.