Bill Jensen Comes Out of Retirement to Join Westlake

Westlake Financial Services has hired former Chase Auto Finance executive Bill Jensen to develop the lender’s strategic accounts division, the company announced in a press release yesterday.

Jensen’s new duties will include analysis of all strategic account relationships to maximize business for dealerships and Westlake, the release stated.

“Bill brings over 45 years of experience to this role,” Ian Anderson, group president of Westlake Financial Services, said in the release. “His knowledge will provide us even deeper insight into the needs and interests of these unique groups. We are dedicated to solidifying our position as the selected indirect lender for strategic accounts nationwide and we are confident that Bill will heavily contribute to this initiative.”

Before his brief retirement in April, Jensen served as senior credit executive at Chase Auto Finance and was responsible for major credit origination processes and control improvement projects. During his 16 years at JPMorgan Chase, he also served as Custom Finance Senior Executive, where he was responsible for subprime auto originations, and National Retail Lending Credit Executive, in which he managed originations, booking, and funding provided to over 17,000 auto dealerships nationwide.

His career began in 1972 at Bank of America and included positions at Security Pacific Bank, Mazda Motor of America, and Bank One, before it was acquired by Chase. 

“Westlake’s relationships with strategic accounts are crucial to continued growth primarily because these accounts consist of the largest and most growth orientated dealer groups in the U.S.,” Jensen said. “Westlake Financial is a strong competitor in the industry, successfully serving both franchise and independent dealers nationwide through its integration of technology and constant innovation.”