Huntington Bank saw an 11% year-over-year rise in auto outstandings — to $11.6 billion — in the second quarter, thanks to the bank’s increased focus on its “dealer community,” Executive Vice President and Group Director Rich Porrello told Auto Finance News.
“Since 2010, we’ve had no real geographic expansion year-to-date, but our model continues to resonate well with the dealer community that we do business with, and we’ve been able to penetrate further,” Porrello said. “Our local colleagues are doing a great job in the market, and basically the dealer market is rewarding us for it.”
The bank reported $1.7 billion in auto originations in 2Q, up 6% from the prior-year quarter, while several national banks, including Wells Fargo Dealer Services and Chase Auto Finance, reported a drop.
However, Huntington Bank remains consistent with its credit strategy, despite ramped up competition, Porrello added.
“We haven’t changed our underwriting standards in the last eight to 10 years,” he said. “If you look historically at our performance, we have been very consistent in the 760 Fico range, so underwriting standards haven’t changed. Our model is working, but more importantly we are consistent about the customers that we buy, so no real changes.”
Meanwhile, several credit unions have been dipping down the credit spectrum to nab marketshare. Credit union marketshare in the auto finance space grew to 24% in the first quarter, compared with 21.3% during the same period last year, according to CU Direct’s State of the Credit Union Auto Lending Market report.
The market Huntington competes in is “fairly rational,” Porrello said. “Our competitors are rational. I can’t speak to what the credit unions are doing or aren’t doing, but as I think about buying down into the lower credit scores it’s not something we have had a focus on. We have been consistent around the type of deals we do. For us, it’s really about getting decisions back to dealers very quickly.”
Huntington Bank makes loans for 4,100 auto dealers and operates in 23 states through 11 regional offices.
