Dover Federal Credit Union plans to launch an indirect recreational vehicle lending program after it finishes “enhancing” its auto lending business, Consumer Lending Manager Brad Fielder told Powersports Finance.
The Dover, Del.-based credit union already has a direct lending platform for its RV business, but had a strategic plan to launch an indirect model this year. However, the plan was temporarily set aside as the company focused on changing its auto lending rate sheet, Fielder said.
“Vehicle loans are our baby, our niche,” he said. “We wanted to enhance that program and make dealerships and branches more aligned, then we can work on the RV [indirect lending] program. We wanted to enhance a program that is successful before we started to create a program that has not even been started yet. It was part of my strategic plan to launch the RV program this year, but we all know parts of a strategic plan can go left and right.”
Dover Federal Credit Union has a smart application through CU Direct’s Credit Union Direct Lending program where all auto loans go through the dealerships.
“When a member comes to [Dover Federal] directly, it transfers to the dealer,” Fielder said. “Instead of taking the application internally, we are putting the application through CUDL through the Smart Approval program in the branch and that comes over to our indirect team.”
On June 1, Dover Federal made strategic changes to its rate sheet to gear everything to the Smart Approval program, Fielder said. “Instead of it being branch-based, it’s individual-based. … We have been marketing the Smart Approval program better to branch representatives in order for them to utilize it and send everything to the dealerships. We are working with our dealerships and not against them.”
Dover, Del.-based Dover Federal Credit Union has seven branch locations and makes loans for 42 dealers as of July, up from 38 dealers in November 2016.
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