LAS VEGAS — Many emerging players in the auto finance space tend to be a lot more “tech” and a lot less “fin,” David Hollodick, senior vice president of consumer vehicle lending at Bank of America, said last week at the AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference.
“The technology is just so critical these days, and our bank has certainly made incredible investment in tech and the online experience,” he said. “But at some point you have to know how to underwrite, lend, be a good creditor, and service that business.”
The portfolios of some of the newer players, “without naming names,” Hollodick said, are not performing as well as expected. “The greatest tech in the world will fail if you don’t have a solid finance business model,” he said.
Jim Landy, founder and chief executive of marketplace lending startup SpringboardAuto.com, said that the two aspects of the lending business — finance and technology — are not mutually exclusive.
“We consider SpringboardAuto to be a fintech company, but our team of executives has more than three decades of experience in the auto industry,” he said during the same panel. “We recognize that credit is key, but also recognize that the financing process can’t take 30 minutes, it has to be real-time. So, it’s a marriage of the two that works.”
