Auto Finance News

No products in the cart.

Subscribe
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Capital & Funding
    • Compliance & Regs
    • Technology
    • Risk Management
    • Sales & Marketing
  • Data
  • EXCELLENCE
  • Magazine
  • Events
    • Auto Finance Summit 2023
    • Powersports Finance Summit 2023
    • Using Pricing Analytics to Increase Loan Profitability and Mitigate Portfolio Risk
  • Podcast
  • Powersports
BIG Wheels
Log In
No Result
View All Result
Auto Finance News
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Capital & Funding
    • Compliance & Regs
    • Technology
    • Risk Management
    • Sales & Marketing
  • Data
  • EXCELLENCE
  • Magazine
  • Events
    • Auto Finance Summit 2023
    • Powersports Finance Summit 2023
    • Using Pricing Analytics to Increase Loan Profitability and Mitigate Portfolio Risk
  • Podcast
  • Powersports
BIG Wheels
Log In
No Result
View All Result
Auto Finance News
No Result
View All Result

Global Lending Services bets long-term success on direct business

Bianca ChanbyBianca Chan
August 28, 2019
in Customer Experience, Operations
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Steve Thibodeau, CEO Global Lending Services

Global Lending Services is in the midst of establishing a direct lending business, a move Chief Executive Steve Thibodeau calls “the next gear of [the company’s] growth engine.” While the Atlanta-based auto lender is keeping short-term aspirations in check — Thibodeau said he does not see the direct business as a significant driver of volume for the next year — he expects it to be a critical component to the long-term success of the organization.

“We see this as a growth engine for the future, and something we are beginning to invest in now,” Thibodeau said.

At the helm of the company, Thibodeau is zeroed in on growth — hiring 53 employees in June alone; developing the direct-to-consumer venture; bolstering the indirect platform by adding nearly
200 dealerships each month; and, overhauling the subprime lender’s decisioning process. With all of that on his plate, Thibodeau shared lessons learned from his 20-year auto finance career, top challenges on his radar, and what it takes to start a direct lending business. What follows is an edited version of Thibodeau’s conversation with AFE.

Auto Finance Excellence: How do you apply lessons learned from your tenure in the auto finance business to the evolving industry?

Steve Thibodeau: Never stop innovating. The market is constantly evolving. To stay ahead, we need to out-work, out-think and out-innovate the competition. Our competitive advantage is our ability to innovate new products that better meet the needs of the dealers and customers at a rate much faster than the rest of the market.

GLS was one of the first non-bank finance companies to offer 100% fully automated decisioning; we were one of the first to develop pass-through programs; and we were one of the first to allow customers the ability to prearrange financing through their mobile device. We are now leveraging all these learnings and capabilities to reinvent the direct-to-indirect purchase experience for the
nonprime market.

AFE: What spurred GLS to establish a direct-to-consumer lending business? How do you anticipate that business to develop in the next year?

ST: We have been studying the market and consumer behaviors for some time now. Like every other part of the economy, consumers are slowly migrating more towards online purchasing. At first, customers went online just for information. Then they began using the internet to locate vehicle inventory. Ultimately, it led to determining vehicle pricing, and now customers are starting to explore financing those transactions through prequalifying for loans before they head to the dealership. We want to be there for both the dealer and the consumer throughout the process, wherever and whenever they choose to explore their options.

We will begin testing a direct-to-indirect program in the fourth quarter with a pilot group of dealers in a test region. Our goal is to perfect the right dealer and customer experience through that pilot and ultimately roll out the program nationwide to all our dealers. We don’t have a hard timeline on the full rollout, other than to say we will move at the pace of demand from the market and
our dealers.

AFE: What operational and logistical changes did GLS put into place to support the new direct-to-consumer business venture?

ST: Customer attention spans are very short online. In just a few seconds, a pop-up or banner ad can distract customers and lead them to another site entirely. Lenders must deliver lightning-fast approvals and pricing on all the possible vehicle options to satisfy the demands of today’s customers. GLS has made significant investments into our decisioning infrastructure to be able to provide near-instantaneous decisions.

It’s also important to have a seamless customer experience. Consumers need to be able to effortlessly move from their approval online to a wallet of options to the dealership, and then be able to fly quickly through different vehicle options, terms, payments and so on.

Finally, there is a staffing component that must be solved. It’s important to have folks who can assist customers with the purchase experience, as well as navigate their different options. We need to service customers through their preferred communication style, whether that be phone, chat, text or email.

AFE: What are the top challenges on your radar, and how are you allocating your time?

ST: For me, it always comes down to focusing on talent, risk, growth and capital. I spend 90% of my time focused on these four key areas. Talent is by far the most important, since if you can solve talent the other three areas seem to take care of themselves.

I interview 10 to 15 candidates a month for various roles and look at 30 or 40 resumes or LinkedIn profiles. As a growing organization, we are flush with opportunities and are always looking to add talent to the team. We have a high bar for what we expect, and I am constantly amazed by the level of creativity and innovation throughout the business.

From a risk perspective, we are cognizant of the fact we are very late in the cycle. It’s something we talk a lot about as a leadership team, as well as at the board level. We have continued to focus on enhancing our decisioning capabilities by adding data sources and constantly monitoring our loss performance. As a lender, you can’t avoid a recession, but you can certainly position yourself to best weather the storm and emerge as a winner on the other side.

Tags: Best Practicesdirect lendingGlobal Lending Services
Previous Post

Tricolor CEO joins AFS speaker roster

Next Post

Ally backs startup Fair with $100m debt facility

Related Posts

Electric vehicle charging
Operations

5 questions with … Spring Free EV co-founder and Chief Product Officer Tenni Theurer

September 11, 2023
Artificial Intelligence Automation Technology Background. Augmented Reality Design
Customer Experience

Taming the subprime segment: How alternative data builds profits, reduces risk

September 5, 2023
The General Motors Co. (GM) Cadillac logo is displayed on the rear of a Cadillac CT5 sedan during an event in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The CT5 sedan debuting at this week's New York show targets BMW's 3 Series and the Audi A4 and will be priced accordingly, said Ken Kornas, the car's product manager.
Customer Experience

5 questions with … GM Financial Chief Experience Officer Mike Urrutia

August 17, 2023
Next Post
© Can Stock Photo / ieva

Ally backs startup Fair with $100m debt facility

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

STAY INFORMED WITH OUR NEWS ALERTS

COLUMNS

Closeup of car head lamp

Under the Hood: Opposing forces tug at industry’s future

September 15, 2023
Green plant growing from the coins

Under the Hood: Lenders spice up funding routines

August 28, 2023

Innovation & Technology

Cars

Westlake portfolio grows following product launches

September 19, 2023
Close up of a charger plugged into an electric vehicle

Bank of America sees EV penetration at 21% by 2025

September 15, 2023

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

Lenders face longer period of restriction amid Fed rate pause

September 22, 2023
UAW members and supporters on a picket line outside the Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Sept. 20.

UAW to expand strike against GM and Stellantis while sparing Ford

September 22, 2023

SPONSORED

A new era in auto finance collections with Voicebots

August 15, 2023

Finding the Perfect Sweet Spot For Your Auto Loan Pricing

June 13, 2023
© Can Stock Photo / kran77

When rates take a hike, do auto lenders change strategies?

April 28, 2023

Resources

ABOUT US

HELP CENTER

MARKETING SOLUTIONS

PRIVACY TERMS

ADA COMPLIANCE

CODE OF JOURNALISM ETHICS

Manage Cookie Consent

Special Content

EXECUTIVES OF THE YEAR

AUTO FINANCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

Follow Us

twitter linkedin twitter podcast podcast
© 2023 Royal Media
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Capital & Funding
    • Compliance & Regs
    • EVs
    • Exec of the Year
    • Innovation & Technology
    • Management
    • Powersports Finance News
    • Risk Management
    • Sales & Marketing
  • Events
    • Auto Finance Summit East
    • Auto Finance Summit
    • Powersports Finance Summit
    • Equipment Finance Connect
  • Excellence
    • Best Practices
    • Topics
      • Compliance
      • Customer Experience
      • Technology
    • White Papers
    • Glossary
  • Magazine
    • Latest Issue
    • Features
    • New Tracks
    • Car Culture
    • Staffing Shuffles
    • Under The Hood
    • Spotlight
    • Issue Archive
  • Podcast
  • Data
  • +PLUS
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Log In / Account

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
THIS WEBSITE USES COOKIES

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “I CONSENT”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.

Cookie settingsI CONSENT

Review our Cookie Policies
.
Manage Cookie Consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
34f6831605sessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
a64cedc0bfsessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
CookieConsentPolicy1 yearUsed to apply end-user cookie consent preferences set by our client-side utility.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
crmcsrsessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
JSESSIONIDsessionThe JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.
LS_CSRF_TOKENsessionCloudflare sets this cookie to track users’ activities across multiple websites. It expires once the browser is closed.
LSKey-c$CookieConsentPolicy1 yearUsed to apply end-user cookie consent preferences set by our client-side utility.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
_zcsr_tmpsessionZoho sets this cookie for the login function on the website.
663a60c55dsessionThis cookie is related to Zoho (Customer Service) Chatbox
e188bc05fesessionThis cookie is set in relation to Zoho Campaigns
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
vuid2 yearsVimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
__Host-GAPS2 yearsThis cookie allows the website to identify a user and provide enhanced functionality and personalisation.
_dc_gtm_UA-1038974-31 minuteUsed to help identify the visitors by either age, gender, or interests by DoubleClick - Google Tag Manager.
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
fr3 monthsFacebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
caf_ipaddrsessionNo description available.
citysessionNo description available.
countrysessionNo description available.
gnt_eidsessionNo description available.
gnt_eu6 hoursNo description
iamcsrsessionZoho (Customer Support) sets this cookie and is used for tracking visitors (for performance purposes)
systemsessionNo description available.
traffic_targetsessionNo description available.
Save & Accept
Powered by CookieYes Logo