Santander Consumer USA pumped up the volume of loans it originated for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. in the first quarter to $229 million, from $12 million in the year-prior period.
The originations are part of an agreement that calls for NMAC to refer loan applications from lower credit quality customers to SCUSA for financing. Despite the skyrocketing volume, the NMAC deal is far smaller than SCUSA’s financing partnership with Chrysler.
Last quarter, SCUSA originated $2.5 billion of loans and $1.5 billion of leases under the Chrysler Capital brand. SCUSA will continue to explore captive-type partnerships, Chief Executive Tom Dundon said in an earnings call last month.
“We work on this all the time,” he said. “There are plenty of opportunities right now, probably more opportunities than we would ultimately take on.”
