BBVA, NMAC, TD Bank, Wells Fargo See Tech as Top Priority for 2019
LAS VEGAS — Digital transformation and changing consumer communication trends will be top priorities for four of the nation’s largest lenders in 2019, according to an exclusive Auto Finance News survey of the resource-allocation plans among the companies’ senior executives.
Results from the survey of BBVA Compass, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., TD Bank, and Wells Fargo Auto — whose books of business range from $3 billion to $50 billion — were released during a panel at the 2018 Auto Finance Summit last week.
Wells Fargo Auto will enter 2019 with continued investment in technology platforms to make the bank more efficient and to enhance the areas where demand is more digital-focused, said Jerry Bowen, the bank’s executive vice president and head of dealer relationships and product.
“We expect our portfolio to start growing again, and we spent the last 18 months undergoing a lot of change and transition.” Meanwhile, BBVA’s focus will be on forecasting tools. “We can better predict credit losses and get to a point where we feel very good about our ability to project forward,” said Chuck Berend, the bank’s director of U.S. auto lending.
“We need to put in place technology that allows us to preserve options.” TD Bank’s aim is to leverage investment in tools and technologies that help the bank make decisions that allow it to “listen” to where customer demand is heading, said Chief Operating Officer Marc Womack.
As for the captive, NMAC “measures its success based on the Nissan and Infiniti retail share,” said Jim DeTrude, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our retailers [success] will depend on how we roll forward data and technology.”
The stage of lenders experimenting with and testing new tools is coming to a close as yearend approaches. “We’re coming out of a place where we can see what technology is going to stick, and what isn’t,” Berend said.
Below is a look at the results of the exclusive Auto Finance News survey detailing resource-allocation plans of Chuck Berend (BBVA Compass), Jerry Bowen (Wells Fargo Auto), Jim DeTrude (NMAC), and Marc Womack (TD Auto Finance):
