Westlake Lands $30 Million Credit Facility with Japanese Firm

Westlake Financial Services has secured a $30 million credit facility with Japanese leasing company MG Leasing Corp. The facility, which was executed Nov. 8 and funded yesterday, collateralizes Westlake’s auto finance receivables.

The partnership is Westlake’s first with a Japanese finance company, and MG Leasing’s first financing agreement in the U.S. “We appreciate MGL’s very competitive pricing and strong confidence in our business plan,” Paul Kerwin, Westlake’s chief operating officer, said in a release. “With this additional liquidity, Westlake is well positioned to expand and continue our record growth that we have been experiencing the past 25 years and into the future.”

“I hope this opportunity will continue to grow, and bring even more Japanese financing to the U.S. subprime auto market,” added Atsushi Suzuki, a Westlake board member and Marubeni Corp. representative.

MGL is a joint venture of Marubeni Corp., which acquired a 20% stake in Westlake Financial Services in July 2011, and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Ltd., a subsidiary of global banking institution Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.

Lost Angeles-based Westlake Financial Services is a privately held finance company that specializes in acquiring and servicing subprime to prime automotive retail installment contracts via a network of more than 15,000 new- and used-car dealers. It also offers portfolio purchasing through its Advanced Lending & Portfolio Services division, and direct-to-consumer title loans and unsecured loans through its wholly owned subsidiary, Wilshire Consumer Credit.

In August, Westlake added $100 million to an existing $200 million credit facility that was executed via Royal Bank of Scotland in 4Q11.