Tricolor is looking to a high-level Equifax executive to provide guidance and leadership.
The used-vehicle retailer focusing on the integrated sale and financing of vehicles to Hispanic consumers on Tuesday announced the addition of veteran Equifax and financial services executive Dann Adams to its board of directors. Adams will help guide Tricolor’s growth as it explores new models and applications for its underwriting platform.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dann to the team,” Tricolor chief executive officer Daniel Chu said. “He has a proven track record of creating new data assets; helping industries identify greater risk transparency; and developing insights that help consumers gain greater access to credit.
“We believe his in-depth understanding of the unbanked consumer will help us expand our application of alternative data and artificial intelligence,” Chu added.
A 20-year veteran of Equifax, Adams currently serves as president of the company’s global consumer solutions business unit, and is a previous president of the company’s workforce solutions and former consumer information solutions business units. In addition, Adams has been instrumental in developing Equifax industry data exchanges focused on small businesses, telecommunications and utilities, as well as income and employment verification services.
Prior to joining Equifax in 1999, Adams held various leadership positions in sales, sales management and product marketing at Dun & Bradstreet Information Services.
“Through its use of data and novel technologies, Tricolor has enabled a vastly underserved market to access affordable credit,” Adams said. “I am excited to combine what I’ve learned about the unique needs of the unbanked consumer and the hourly worker with the risk assessment model of the Tricolor platform.
“In addition, I’m inspired by the opportunity to help others gain access to affordable credit and create enormous value,” he went on to say.
Tricolor’s proprietary credit decisioning engine serves as the foundation for a new direct lending model for subprime Hispanic customers. Its segmentation model can assess unique, non-traditional attributes for no credit and low-income consumers in order to assess intent and ability to repay.
Tricolor has recently begun to build upon its model for underwriting thin and no file customers. The company has also partnered with an artificial intelligence provider, Phenx Machine Learning Technologies, to advance its underwriting capabilities.
In an effort to touch on an array of topics within the used-vehicle industry, Nick recently connected with AGORA founder and chief executive officer Steve Burke for a podcast about how the market for bulk portfolio purchases is behaving.
With significant experience in the space, Burke discussed how technology is impacting how dealerships and finance companies buy and sell paper.
The full discussion can be found below.
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Make it five integrations with dealership management systems for AGORA.
Within a week of announcing a relationship with Auto Master Systems, AGORA finalized its relationships with AutoManager, a dealer software development company located in southern California that offers three principal products: DeskManager, WebManager and Automotive CRM.
AGORA, the Texas-based provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry, now is integrated with Auto Master Systems and AutoManager along with Frazer, Wayne Reaves and DealerCenter.
“The AutoManager integration continues to expand AGORA’s ability to help buy-here, pay-here dealers sell portfolios faster, more profitably and securely to our nationwide network of banks, finance companies, and credit unions on our platform,” AGORA founder and chief executive officer Steve Burke said.
“Protecting our dealers from exposing loan data when they make their portfolios available for sale and giving dealers more liquidity is the mission of AGORA,” Burke continued.
“DeskManager is an exceptional dealer management system, and we are excited to have them as one of our key integration partners, who enable dealers to seamlessly and securely offer their loans for sale, avoiding unsafe transmission of private customer data through emails and data files,” Burke went on to say.
For more than 30 years, AutoManager stated that it has been able to leverage their knowledge, experience and expertise to increase sales and productivity for their dealers. The integration with AGORA will give DeskManager’s BHPH dealerships an option to have their loan information concurrently available on AGORA, where they can securely select loan pools for bidding or financing.
“Adding AGORA as a valued integration partner allows us to continue our commitment of enhancing the value, innovation, and customer service we provide our dealers,” AutoManager president and chief executive officer Kami Tafreshi said.
“Now our buy-here, pay-here DeskManager dealers can increase their profitability and success by utilizing this fast and secure dynamic loan marketplace,” Tafreshi went on to say.
Now that DeskManager is the fifth AGORA API integration with the leading DMS providers. AGORA management expects that in the next few months AGORA will be fully integrated with DMS providers covering more than 90 percent of the dealerships nationwide.
This month, AGORA also hit a new milestone of more than $3 billion in principal balance placed on its platform since the launch in April 2017.
Frazer, Wayne Reaves, DealerCenter and now Auto Master Systems (AMS).
All of those dealer management systems (DMS) now have an integration with AGORA, a Texas-based provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry.
Through the integration with AGORA finalized this week, officials explained dealerships and finance companies active on AMS will have their loan information concurrently available on AGORA, where they can securely select loan pools for bidding or financing from a national network of lenders that acquire loan pools or finance them on the AGORA platform.
The entire placement, bidding and acquisition of loan pools are completed inside the AGORA platform, without exposing private customer data, transaction activity and collection notes to outside parties.
“Auto Master is committed to providing best-in-class service to our customers and enabling them to utilize the most up-to-date auto finance technologies,” AMS vice president of sales Mike Downey said in a news release. “Partnering with AGORA aligns perfectly with our focus on adding value for our customers.”
The AMS/AGORA integration can allow the client to remove the need to run excel exports and manually uploading of data on a button push but will now run every night, ensuring the most up-to-date loan information is available.
Since its launch in April 2017, AGORA’s flagship loan exchange platform has quickly evolved within the secondary market for auto loans, allowing buyers and sellers to publish and exchange loan data directly in an efficient and secure environment without the need of intermediaries or brokers.
AGORA founder and chief executive officer Steve Burke highlighted the latest integration coincided with another company achievement.
Burke stated, “This month, we hit an important milestone of $3 billion in principal balance loans placed on AGORA.”
Burke mentioned the Auto Master integration is the fourth DMS integration, with two more planned this month with other leading DMS providers. AGORA management expects that in the next few months, AGORA will be fully integrated with DMS providers, covering more than 90 percent of the dealerships nationwide.
Burke reiterated AGORA was created in response to the many friction points and inefficiencies that exist in the manner that auto loan portfolios currently trade – namely poor and inconsistent data, lack of transparency from the brokers that previously dominated the market and heightened regulatory concerns over unsecured transmission of personal consumer data.
He then emphasized the importance of integrating with AMS.
“Protecting our dealers from exposing loan data when they make their portfolios available for sale and giving dealers more liquidity is the mission of AGORA,” Burke said. “Auto Master is an exceptional dealer management system, and we are excited to have them as one of our key integration partners who enable dealers to seamlessly and securely offer their loans for sale to our large network of member banks, finance companies and credit unions — avoiding unsafe emails of data files.
“The Auto Master integration continues to expand AGORA’s ability to help sellers sell faster, sell more profitably and sell securely,” he continued.
Burke went on to say, “Soon, all dealers will be asking ‘Does my DMS do this?’”
For more details, visit www.agoradata.com or call (877) 592-4672.
During a podcast recorded during the Vehicle Finance Conference hosted by the American Financial Services Association, Nick shared another conversation with Jennifer Reid, the vice president of automotive strategy and marketing at Equifax Automotive Services.
Reid revisited strategic recommendations to help dealerships and finance companies learn more about potential buyers from their credit reports than just their top-line score.
The full episode can be found below.
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You can also listen to the latest episode in the window below.
Catch the latest episodes on the Auto Remarketing Podcast homepage and on our Soundcloud page.
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A technology expert who has held top roles at Santander Consumer USA and Capital One now is a part of Tricolor, one of the largest used-vehicle retailers focusing on the sale and financing of vehicles to Hispanic consumers,
This week, Tricolor announced that it has appointed industry veteran Don Goin as its chief technology officer. Goin will lead Tricolor’s digital transformation as it continues to scale and expand its direct-to-consumer financing model and explore new applications.
“Don has continually distinguished himself as an innovator and leader in our industry, and I am thrilled to welcome him to the team,” Tricolor chief executive officer Daniel Chu said. “He will be instrumental in advancing our digital strategy across all of our core processes and enhancing the scalability of our platform.”
During a 25-year career in technology, Goin served as the chief information officer at Santander Consumer USA for more than 12 years, leading all technology strategy and execution for one of the fastest growing finance companies in the subprime space.
As chief information officer at Capital One Auto Finance, Goin co-led the creation of an innovation center while integrating technology to accelerate market capabilities and transform solution delivery.
Tricolor has continued to expand its proven model for underwriting thin and no-file Hispanics in innovative ways. The company has partnered with artificial intelligence providers to advance its underwriting capabilities while exploring new applications for its ability to efficiently extend affordable loans to customers.
Goin acknowledged his new role, saying, “Tricolor has created a truly distinct value proposition. I look forward to creating a complete and thoroughly modern digital customer journey that will transform our market.”
Since its founding in 2007, Tricolor highlighted that it empowers its customers by providing access to affordable financing on high quality, certified vehicles in order to enhance the quality of their lives and ultimately help them to build a better future. On a combined basis, Tricolor and its sister brand Ganas have served more than 45,000 customers and disbursed nearly $900 million in auto financing by using its proprietary model to segment risk.
For more information about Tricolor and Ganas, visit tricolor.com and ganas.com.
Now that the government shutdown has been halted until at least Feb. 15, the Internal Revenue Service announced on Monday that it successfully opened the 2019 tax-filing season as the agency started accepting and processing federal tax returns for tax year 2018.
Despite the major tax law changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the IRS said it was able to open this year’s tax-filing season one day earlier than the 2018 tax-filing season.
As to what’s of particular interest to buy-here, pay-here, dealers, the IRS emphasized that refunds, by law, cannot be issued before Feb. 15 for tax returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. Officials said this stipulation applies to the entire refund — even the portion not associated with the EITC and ACTC.
While the IRS said it will process the EITC and ACTC returns when received, officials indicated these refunds cannot be issued before Feb. 15.
Similar to last year, the IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to actually be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return.
Officials added that the tool “Where’s My Refund?” on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go mobile app remains the best way to check the status of a refund. “Where’s My Refund?” will be updated with projected deposit dates for most early EITC and ACTC refund filers on Feb. 23, so those filers will not see a refund date on “Where’s My Refund?” or through their software packages until then.
“The IRS, tax preparers and tax software will not have additional information on refund dates, so these filers should not contact or call about refunds before the end of February,” officials said.
The agency reiterated this law was changed to give the IRS more time to detect and prevent fraud. Even with the EITC and ACTC refunds and the additional security safeguards, the IRS still expects to issue more than nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days.
“However, it’s possible a particular tax return may require additional review, and a refund could take longer,” officials said. “Even so, taxpayers and tax return preparers should file when they’re ready. For those who usually file early in the year and are ready to file a complete and accurate return, there is no need to wait to file.”
More than 150 million individual tax returns for the 2018 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the April tax deadline. Through mid-day Monday, the IRS had already received several million tax returns during the busy opening hours.
“I am extremely proud of the entire IRS workforce. The dedicated IRS employees have worked tirelessly to successfully implement the biggest tax law changes in 30 years and launch tax season for the nation,” IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig said.
“Although we face various near- and longer-term challenges, our employees are committed to doing everything we can to help taxpayers and get refunds out quickly,” Rettig continued.
Following the government shutdown, the IRS is working to promptly resume normal operations.
“The IRS will be doing everything it can to have a smooth filing season,” Rettig said. “Taxpayers can minimize errors and speed refunds by using e-file and IRS Free File along with direct deposit.”
The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is April 15 for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17 to file their returns.
The IRS expects about 90 percent of returns to be filed electronically.
“Choosing e-file and direct deposit remains the fastest and safest way to file an accurate income tax return and receive a refund,” officials said.
A financial services organization already with a long-standing relationship with NIADA recently expanded the partnership.
Home Loan Investment Bank, whose auto finance division offers a Preferred Dealer Referral Program to independent dealers throughout the country, has joined with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association as its newest Bronze-level National Corporate Partner.
“Home Loan works with dealers to offer car buyers a unique value proposition: financing for any make, any mileage, any year,” Home Loan Investment Bank chairman and chief executive Brian Murphy said. “In addition to automobiles, we finance motorcycles, recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles. We offer loans for new and used vehicles as well as refinancing.
“We are excited about this opportunity to get to know NIADA’s member dealers and show them how a bank named Home Loan can help them sell more cars,” Murphy continued.
NIADA senior vice president of member services Scott Lilja said Home Loan’s 50-plus years of experience in the banking and lending business helps make the company a strong partner.
“Home Loan Investment Bank has developed very attractive lending solutions for our independent auto dealer members,” he said. “That helps address one of biggest challenges our members face — access to high quality, profitable, first-class service and auto lending resources.
“We look forward to helping Home Loan Investment Bank expand its presence in the independent auto retail market and bring best-in-class auto finance resources to our member dealers,” Lilja went on to say.
For more information, visit www.homeloanbank.com/auto.aspx or call (401) 773-9610.
A finance company your buy-here, pay-here operation might leverage enhanced its relationship with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association.
According to an announcement distributed this week, Lobel Financial has improved its longstanding affiliation with NIADA by becoming the association’s most recent Bronze-level National Corporate Partner.
Lobel Financial is a source of full spectrum auto and light truck financing, streamlined for independent, franchised and BHPH dealers. The company said it knows supporting NIADA is helping the used-car industry as a whole, and that’s what it’s here to do.
“NIADA is excited to recognize Lobel Financial’s value to the industry after conducting its due diligence,” NIADA senior vice president of member services Scott Lilja said.
Lobel emphasized that its goal is to assist dealers with the tools needed to run a successful and profitable dealership.
“The assessment of any successful long-term business relationship,” chief executive officer Harvey Lobel said, “is knowing it benefits both partners.”
Lobel Financial is a regional lender with local branch offices in the markets it serves. The company provides capital to dealers for the acquisition and servicing of motor vehicle retail installment sales contracts.
Lobel can issue instant, automated approvals 24/7 and prompt ACH funding. Using its DMS platform can increase dealer efficiency, allowing for sales growth and meeting profit objectives.
“The company is dedicated to providing its dealer-partners with a simple, reliable financing solution that meets their needs,” Lobel business development team lead Joe Torres said.
NIADA members receive priority funding when contracts are received within 48 hours of approval using their NIADA member ID number as the promo code.
For more information, visit www.lobelfinancial.com.
This week, Equifax and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association shared noteworthy results from their Q3 Auto Business Outlook, which stems from operators participating in a quarterly survey.
Equifax and NIADA highlighted that three general themes surfaced from the latest edition. Those elements included:
— Independent dealers remain optimistic heading into 2019.
— The buy-here, pay-here market shows growth.
— A continued shift is happening from new-vehicle sales and leases to used-car transactions.
Officials shared results from specific survey questions, including:
Overall, does your dealership expect economic conditions to improve, stay the same, or decline in the auto industry over the next quarter?
2018 Q3: 47 percent said they would improve
2017 Q3: 36 percent said they would improve
Does your dealership plan to expand its business over the next quarter? (add new equipment, enhance your building/property)
2018 Q3: 32 percent of dealers said yes
2017 Q3: 30 percent of dealers said yes
What percentage of the following categories makes up your total retail automobile sales?
2018 Q3: 37 percent in prime / 37 percent in BHPH / 26 percent in subprime
2017 Q3: 39 percent in prime / 33 percent in BHPH / 28 percent in subprime
Do you anticipate your dealership’s retail sales to grow, stay the same or decrease over the next quarter?
2018 Q3: 56 percent said they would grow, while 36 percent said the same and 8 percent suspect a decrease
2017 Q3: 55 percent said they would grow,while 34 percent said the same and 11 percent suspect a decrease
When it comes to factors contributing to more difficulty for dealers to secure loans for their customers, operators cited the following:
40 percent: tighter restrictions to qualify buyer loans (credit tiers)
25 percent: less access to number of lenders
25 percent: worsening terms affecting ability to effectively compete with franchised dealers
14 percent: more verification of buyers’ background (employment, income, residence address, etc.)
While 2016 was a record-setting year for new-car sales, Equifax pointed out that at the midway point of 2018, used-vehicle sales are continuing a shift that started last year and are on pace to match a strong 2017.
Analysts indicated the shift to used vehicles is also behind an increase in loans and a decline in the leasing market. Equifax noted that the nearly 2 million auto leases, totaling $32.4 billion, originated through the first half of 2018 reflects a 1.2-percent decrease in accounts and a 2.9-percent decrease in balances from the same period last year.
Equifax added that new-model leases accounted for only 13.8 percent of all auto accounts originated through June and 10.4 percent of balances.
Gunnar Blix, deputy chief economist for Equifax, explained that despite a pace of new sales that is slightly off the record-setting mark of 2016, car shoppers overall are financing more — a clear reflection of the continued increase in the price of cars and trucks and the starting impact of rising interest rates.
“We see the shift from new-vehicle sales activity to more used vehicles continuing, largely because the shopper knows the price of autos is going up, and they realize they can find bargains on slightly used, off-lease vehicles that are readily available,” Blix said. “Interest-free loan and lease incentives are also becoming few and far between.”
