Platinum Auto Finance is leveraging a newly secured $100 million warehouse credit facility to nearly double its lending footprint, company Vice President John Kitchens told Auto Finance News.
“We want to stay in the eastern portion of the U.S. for now,” Kitchens said. Specifically, the Clearwater, Fla.-based lender is eyeing Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The lender currently works with 719 dealerships in nine states.
The credit facility, which has investments funded by Fortress Investment Group affiliate Finitive, has helped the subprime lender double origination volume month over month, Kitchens said. “We’re hoping that expanding into various markets will continue that growth over the next 12 months,” he said, noting that the company originates $12 million of auto loans per month.
In the near term, Platinum Auto Finance is focused on deploying the capital to technology advances, including alternative-data usage, artificial intelligence and machine learning. “The AI piece is constantly being developed, and we are hoping to use it by yearend,” Kitchens said.
Securitizations and portfolio acquisitions are also on the horizon for Platinum, Kitchens said. “There are some [portfolios] we are looking into,” he said. “Nothing has jumped out, but once you get down to the nuts and bolts of [an acquisition], there are so many issues.”
Platinum will consider securitization as it continues its growth trajectory, Kitchens said.