PNC Bank’s direct auto lending practice is growing and could have the potential to “change the growth trajectory of consumer lending,” in the long term, CEO and President William Demchak said during Friday’s earnings call.
The bank reported increased consumer lending across its multiple channels to the tune of $300 million through the end of September, compared with the end of June, according to company earnings. The increase was in part due to its auto portfolio the bank said.
“Importantly, inside of auto, we’ve seen continued accelerated growth in direct auto through our Check Ready product,” Demchak said of the company’s online lending process. The bank is also aiming to add Check Ready to its mobile platform in the first quarter of next year, he added.
“I think this will accelerate through time, but it’s not something that’s going to make a dramatic difference in the first-half of 2017,” Demchak said. “It’s just there and something we can execute on over the next couple of years that we think long-term we’ll have a pretty material difference in our ability to change the growth trajectory of consumer lending.”
Although the company did not break out its auto segment specifically, it did report a 3% decrease in average loans year over year, which was offset by lower home equity, education and commercial loans that ultimately grew the automotive and credit card loan portfolios.
