ONTARIO, Calif.-Credit unions may have become more risk averse than banks when it comes to auto lending, observed one vendor that is helping CUs plan for a careful expansion of car lending portfolios in the second half of the year.
Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) is providing its members CUs with detailed market information, including competition assessments and outlooks on dealer stability and the quality of loans they are sending, explained CUDL President Tony Boutelle. "Today it is about providing credit unions with a good understanding of what is going on in their marketplace-what banks' rates are and which dealers are sending loans to financials. We also show our credit union customers how they are performing against certain industry benchmarks."
According to Boutelle, CUDL is offering several new risk management tools, including its new Lending Insights loan performance management system. "We are seeing lot of interest in Lending Insights because it helps credit unions manage the indirect market on a dealer-by-dealer basis. It can pull reports by dealer so you can actually see the kind of volume you are getting from the dealer and their risk profile. You can see which are your highest-risk dealers, and have discussions with them, as well as those that are the best performing, and maybe do specials with them."
Focus On Relationship Tools
The CUDL pipeline focuses on new methods to assist credit unions in their efforts to build relationships with existing members, including a new application that extends CUDL's online reach. "We are also investing in a lot of new risk-management tools," Boutelle said. "We have a multitude of new features in the Lending Insights product that will help credit unions manage risk and improve their collections strategies."
