ATLANTA -

Alternative credit information provider FactorTrust recently added National Auto Lenders as a new customer to enhance the auto finance company’s underwriting process.

Both FactorTrust and NAL insisted non-prime auto financing has seen a steady increase in recent years due to growth in the number of non-prime customers, a willingness to take on more risk and a general lowering of contract interest rates. As the market segment has grown, so has the competition.

FactorTrust chief executive officer Greg Rable also emphasized that today’s finance companies have a need for faster decisions, new data sources and automation in order to best manage credit quality. Rable believes FactorTrust’s non-prime credit risk and consumer data, and risk models can helps those institutions stay competitive.

“It’s imperative for lenders to be able to utilize information that provides them with a better understanding of who their consumers are,” Rable said. “There is a massively underserved population of underbanked consumers that, when taking alternative credit data into account, deserve credit options.

“With our tools, NAL can access unique, proprietary data and auto finance risk scores on non-prime consumers not available to them elsewhere and not reported to the Big 3 bureaus,” he continued. “This more accurately evaluates a borrower’s credit risk, helping lenders better understand a consumer’s ability to repay while maintaining a pricing advantage.”

FactorTrust’s data shows that the 113 million U.S. consumers with FICO credit scores below 700 today indeed are striving for a better financial standing. The provider thinks these consumers should be recognized as CreditClimbers — individuals determined to improve credit scores in order to advance their situation and access more credit options.

Every time a CreditClimber does something positive, they deserve to improve their credit score, according to Rable.

“We’ve seen people improve their credit scores — at every scoring level — by having alternative credit data factored in during the underwriting process. More data is better for both the consumer and the lender.”

FactorTrust’s real-time database of more than 200 million loan transactions can provide finance companies with a holistic view of underbanked consumers’ creditworthiness and ability to repay credit offerings. Though all institutions, including banks, can benefit from FactorTrust’s data, the provider says it is especially valuable in the auto industry.

“Our mission at NAL is to provide fast and flexible financing for hard-working people who may have less than perfect credit. Through the additional data provided by FactorTrust, our underwriters can better judge a consumer’s ability to repay so that they can approve more deals and the consumer can realize their dreams of owning an automobile,” said Ozzie Ramos, president and CEO of NAL who recently was named this year’s Subprime Auto Finance Executive of the Year.

For more information on FactorTrust, visit www.FactorTrust.com or call (866) 910-8497.