On the heels of establishing a direct-to-consumer business, Global Lending Services continues to build the indirect side of the business.
The subprime lender has been signing on nearly 200 new franchise dealers each month as it aims for the 14,000-dealer mark, Chief Executive Steve Thibodeau told Auto Finance News. So far, GLS has signed on 8,600 franchised dealers throughout the U.S., including nearly all the large national dealer groups, he said.
GLS has been increasing its penetration rate with existing dealers, too. “We are seeing our marketshare within our existing dealerships increase, as we drive new program innovations,” Thibodeau said.
The Atlanta-based lender is also looking to its pass-through partners to drive business volume, Thibodeau added. “We have had a lot of success in our partnership programs over the past couple of years,” he said. “We have a number of strategic relationships with captives, credit unions, and national banks, which we partner to provide a second-chance approval to customers who don’t fit their credit box,” he explained.
Global Lending Services doubled originations last year to $1.1 billion, according to Big Wheels Auto Finance Data 2019, up from $558 million in 2017.
