First Investors Aims to Expedite Approvals With New LOS

First Investors Financial Services — in conjunction with one of the primary credit reporting agencies — will debut a new loan origination system this month to expedite the loan approval process,  according to the latest presale report from Kroll Bond Ratings Agency.

The new LOS will “minimize loan officer discretion in the decision-making process,” Kroll said in the report.

First Investors issued a securitization backed by $226.43 million of vehicle loans, according to the report. The First Investors Auto Owner Trust 2017-2 is comprised of subprime auto loans with a weighted average Fico of 587 and a weighted average term of 70 months.

First Investors originated $518 million for the 12-month period ended April 30, up 6% from the prior-year period.

Additionally, the subprime lender’s dealer base increased to 2,210 as of April 2017, but the company also deactivated approximately 169 dealer relationships from that same period, “due to inefficiencies or poor performance,” according to the report.

Back in January, Houston-based First Investors inked a partnership with digital car financing platform AutoGravity to improve First Investors’s financing programs, Tommy Moore Jr., president and chief executive of First Investors, previously told Auto Finance News. “AutoGravity is really in harmony with the dealerships, it’s not trying to disrupt the dealerships,” Moore said.