ORLANDO, Fla. ― JPMorgan Chase & Co., U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo & Co. have joined the Small Business Administration’s dealer floorplan lending program in recent weeks, and Ally Financial Inc. has completed the initial paperwork.
“Four of the largest non-captive lenders are coming online,” said J. Patrick Kelley, a senior advisor at the SBA, during a session at the Consumer Bankers Association conference last month. “With the previous pilot we launched in 2009, none of those lenders participated.”
The SBA created the original initiative, called the Dealer Floor Plan (DFP) Pilot Program, in July 2009, at a time when scores of floorplan finance providers curtailed or exited the market amid economic turmoil. But the sector has since rebounded, and lenders are looking at inventory finance as a means to strengthen dealer relationships.
“We have an interest in participating in the SBA program, and we are currently in the process of completing the preliminary steps required to become an SBA-eligible lender,” wrote Ally spokeswoman Sue Mallino in an email. “Our expectation is to give dealers who wish to participate in the program the option to partner with Ally.”
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