ESCANABA, Mich. — Delta County CU has teamed up with a local RV dealer to create an indirect lending program.
The relationship allows Hilltop RV Superstore customers to apply for credit at Delta County CU with a web application while shopping at the retailer.
"We've done business with them in the past - they could see that what was happening in their business was that the bigger lenders were pulling back," said Vice President Erik Bessonen. "So they came to us and said we have a big sale coming up can you do anything for us as far as rates go?"
After working with Hilltop in that sales effort, Delta County CU moved on to capturing a relationship that was once the domain of the big banks and major finance companies. "Here is a chance for a small organization to give them a tool they had with the big boys, but now they can work with someone locally," Bessonen noted.
Delta County CU is not the only cooperative interested in picking up where the big retailers left off though. "As far as expectations go our [member] credit unions continue to look for good business opportunities, and when they find one and there is a tool to match, the move forward is natural. Once they have one site in production we see many come back for additional sites." said Geoff Johnson, VP-lending products at CU*Answers, the CUSO that owns WESCO Net, which facilitated the relationship. "Requests have been received every month this year for new sites."
Bessonen conceded that the market is tougher than it was in past years, and while the new direct relationship with Hilltop will not revive business by itself, he is confident it will help the dealer pick the low hanging fruit that was frustratingly out of reach when big lenders left the market.
"Their frustration is that people who were easily approved in the past, who had real solid credentials are finding it harder to get approval," he explained. "[With Retail Direct] they don't have the wait, they get that instant yes and Hilltop can proceed with closing the deal much quicker."
As a member of the CU*Answers CUSO, the credit union saw investing in the Retail Direct product as a good investment for the future, Bessonen said. He expects to add additional direct relationships with dealers in the future and noted that it will cost the credit union just $500 for each additional site after its initial investment to setup the program.
