KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-An old favorite has new life.
Stefana Houldsworth, director of product management for automotive solutions for marketing resource management provider Spireon, told Credit Union Journal credit unions have every reason to stay focused on auto lending.
"Credit unions should definitely continue to focus on automotive finance," said Houldsworth, whose company services several vertical markets, including automotive, fleet and fleet management companies. "There has been huge growth in the subprime consumer segment, particularly the automotive loan share for that segment. We are seeing a need to provide effective financing options to this segment. Credit unions in particular are a driving force with more than 18% subprime automotive market share."
Houldsworth said CUs can meet members' needs, grow their member bases and expand their loan portfolios by offering more options to their credit-challenged members. "They need to attract more loans from dealers by making sure they are offering the right kind of loan options. We have solutions that help credit unions do so, and there are other options in the market."
Other tips from Houldsworth include strengthening a member's credit by encouraging on-time payments, and looking for ways to implement internal efficiency and reduce costs, particularly in loan collections. Instead of having collections staff continually doing outbound calling, she said Spireon offers a solution that reminds the member a payment is due. Similarly, "another operational improvement concerns vehicle location for repossession. Part of our solution is an embedded GPS locator device and SaaS [software as a service] for the credit union user to quickly locate the vehicle."
