LAS VEGAS-At the recent CU Direct Lending Conference here, Credit Union Journal asked, "What loan promotion has been particularly successful for your CU?"
David Brand, Director of Loan Origination
Hudson Valley FCU, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Lending has been so strong we have not had to focus on promotions, which I am sure other CUs are experiencing as well. We are more worried about creating efficiencies and repositioning staff to handle our increased business. Our credit union has really benefitted from people leaving the big banks.
Brian Betza, Indirect Lending Manager
Pennsylvania State Employees CU, Harrisburg, Penn.
We have always been strong, indirect lending wise, with terms up to 84 months. But in the first quarter our indirect lending volume went down. There is a lot of competition in our area, so we have had to redefine who we are and what our niche is. At the end of April we dropped our rate for 84 months from 4.99% to 2.99%, which was a significant reduction. As a result, our May indirect lending is on pace for our best month ever.
Julie Trujillo, Dealer Rep
America First CU, Ogden, Utah
Being present is important, because the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" is the truth in this business. If you are hungry for the loans you have to be out there asking for them. Dealers need to know the credit union, because there are so many reps from other lenders visiting them every day.
We take our loan officers out to meet the dealers on a regular basis. This is hard to schedule at times because our loan officers are so busy, but it is valuable. The dealers know the voice over the phone, but putting a face to the voice makes a good connection. We have been increasing our market share throughout Utah and in Las Vegas.
Patrick Rushenberg, SVP Lending and Collections
New Mexico Educators FCU, Albuquerque, N.M.
Building strong relationships with the dealers is important. We do regular one-on-one contact, not only with the F&I people but with all departments at the dealerships. We also have worked hard to create a quick and easy process to get the loans processed and then funded so the dealers get paid. We have been pretty successful. Our volume and loan growth are tracking ahead of last year. This growth has been a direct result of our focus on relationship building and process improvement, along with some special promos.
Victoria Gomez, Indirect Lending Specialist
Tempe Schools CU, Tempe, Ariz.
We have established a partnership with a local dealership. Two years ago, we did a special, four-day car sale at the dealership in which we offered a promotional rate and term, while the dealer gave a price $1,000 below invoice. We did the sale again this year.
For both sales, we spend an entire month doing heavy marketing. Everyone at the credit union is invested, from the executives on down. We have several meetings with representatives from the dealership leading up to the event to discuss goals. We market to our existing members using targeted criteria, while the dealership markets to a similar target group based on people it has sold to in the last three years.
The first time we did this, two years ago, we did $1 million in loans in four days. This year, we doubled it to $2 million in loans, which is pretty good considering we are only $137 million in assets.
