Westlake Financial Services is gearing up to expand its direct lending portal, LoanCenter, beyond its current California footprint.
“Historically, we always pilot everything in our backyard,” VP of Westlake Services and Lending Solutions Ralph Ontiveros, told AFN. Now, nearly two years after launching the pilot, Westlake Financial is ready to take the portal nationwide. The rollout will start in 2019 with Westlake’s major markets, notably Arizona, Florida, New York, and Texas, as 40% of the lender’s business stems from those states, Ontiveros said.
LoanCenter consolidates Westlake’s direct-to-consumer offerings, including auto, title, and unsecured loans, as well as refinancing options.
Westlake Financial will rely on its network of consumer lead aggregators, namely online loan marketplaces Springboard Auto, LendingTree, and MyAutoLoan.com, to help market the LoanCenter brand and drive traffic to the site.
The LoanCenter rollout comes on the heels of enhancements made to the site in the third quarter. “We saw the need to really give consumers what they’re looking for, which is hassle-free ease of use,” Ontiveros said. “They want to know everything that has to do with the not-sexy part of the transaction — the loan — so that they go in and do the exciting part of the transaction of getting into your new car.”
