Buying a car has become a lot more difficult for many more people, especially after the coronavirus pandemic brought on greater financial strain in addition to the obvious health risks. Community banks and credit unions are working to get loans out the door, but they worry about the potential risk involved.
“When our local community can go to a local dealership and know that they’ve gotten a loan through Union Square, that provides peace of mind for the customer that their lender is local,” Union Square Credit Union Assistant Vice President of Dealer Finance Adam Case said. “And we’re happy to serve them in that way.”
At the start of 2020, Union Square Credit Union in Wichita Falls, Texas, partnered with Open Lending’s Lenders Protection™ program. According to Case, the $478.5 million credit union looked to Open Lending because Union Square wanted to reach out to potential members with less-than-perfect credit, which the credit union didn’t have the data analytics nor the insurance for improved risk management Lenders Protection™ offers.
Learn more about Lenders Protection here!
Union Square’s results have spoken for themselves. Since signing up, Union Square’s auto loan portfolio has increased by 21%! The partnership has increased the credit union’s auto lending portfolio by $18.3 million over the past year, and the credit union’s margins have increased by 150 bps. Plus, delinquencies have been contained, making both Union Square and the many dealerships with which it works extremely happy. Of course, the members have felt the positive impact of the program, too.
The Lenders Protection™ program from Open Lending was built for times like these to help financial institutions, dealerships and potential car loan borrowers. We are proud to help auto lenders build an auto loan portfolio that is profitable and tamps down risk to better serve the American consumer when they need it most.