If the deal inked today with Mazda Motor Corp. works out well, it may very well cement Chase Auto Finance’s role as a private-label finance provider.
Chase will take over Mazda financing operations from Ford Motor Credit on Oct. 1.
Chase Auto already serves as the captive for Subaru of America. In fact, Subaru ditched its own auto finance unit to work with Chase.
Private-label financing is something that Chase Auto Finance Chief Executive Marc Sheinbaum knows well. Much of his 22 years of experience in the financial services sector was spent in the credit card space, specifically at GE Capital Corp. and American Express.
For Subaru, Chase Auto Finance provides leasing, retail lending, and floorplan finance. It also offers banking services like wealth management. The ability to complement auto offerings with banking services is a scenario better suited to a bank than to a captive like Ford Motor Credit, Mazda’s current finance partner.
And Sheinbaum’s propensity for developing relationships within the financier’s dealer-base will further strengthen its position as a third-party financing partner of choice.
But Chase Auto had better watch its back. Rival Bank of America Dealer Financial Services has been making inroads into the private-label space lately. Earlier this year, BofA agreed to create a captive for Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. Fleetwood Financial Services, as the unit is called, offers retail and wholesale financing, as well as banking products, to the RV-maker’s 1,000 dealers nationwide.
