Effective immediately, Matt Ruszkowski has been named president and chief operating officer of Carleton, a provider of compliant consumer loan calculations and lending document generation software.
A company news release indicated Ruszkowski will lead Carleton’s experienced executive leadership team toward continued growth and the introduction of new software and services in the lending industry.
“It was important that the next Carleton President demonstrated leadership and our core company values in how he interacts with employees, prospects and clients. Matt’s leadership has continually exhibited these core values, and he understands the unique market value of our products and expertise in today’s financial services marketplace,” said Pat Ruszkowski, Carleton’s chief executive officer.
Matt Ruszkowski has worked in the consumer lending industry for the last 18 years. His business background includes new business development, sales, operations management, and customer and product support. He also led the company’s effort in establishing an automated operational framework which resulted in streamlined client support, enhanced sales and production management, and SOC2 audit compliance.
“Carleton has undergone continuous growth and successfully built upon its decades of experience in the lending industry with more than 150 integrated platform clients,” Pat Ruszkowski said.
“Matt has been a key part of our success over the last five years. This management change will assure Carleton continues its substantial momentum and retains its position as an industry leader. I am very excited about our future,” Ruszkowski concluded.
ID Analytics recently rolled out a tool specifically tailored for finance companies looking to buy a little deeper while still having solid footing with its underwriting.
The Symantec company and consumer risk management provider recently announced Credit Optics Full Spectrum Auto, a new version of its credit score designed specifically to address the needs of the automotive financing industry by providing companies with insights that can help them extend even more compelling credit offers to applicants across the credit spectrum.
The company explained Credit Optics Full Spectrum Auto can distinguish itself from more limited alternative credit solutions by delivering a more complete understanding of credit worthiness on applicants from no-hits to thick-files, subprime to super-prime, helping finance companies to extend more competitive offers and ultimately book more retail installment contracts.
To accomplish this goal, ID Analytics said that it leverages a powerful and uncorrelated assessment of consumer credit risk using event and performance data found in ID Analytics’ ID Network, one of the nation’s largest networks of cross-industry consumer behavioral data. The ID Network can provide deeper insights from data not typically analyzed in traditional credit scores, including transaction data from wireless, cable and utility accounts; online marketplace, payday and subprime lending and other credit-relevant alternative data sources.
To illustrate how a score that looks at both traditional and alternative credit data can reveal a substantial difference in risk within a bureau score band, ID Analytics analyzed a group of prime auto finance applicants with traditional credit scores of 750 and higher. When these applicants were scored using Credit Optics Full Spectrum Auto, the company discovered a significant separation of risk among what are considered excellent credit applicants — with the riskiest 20 percent being more than nine times higher than the lowest risk consumers within the super-prime score band (applicants with 750 scores).
In a rigorous regulatory environment, ID Analytics said credit risk solutions often struggle to meet the evolving demands of financial regulators without compromising performance. ID Analytics shared that it has spent years innovating new techniques designed to help lenders meet their regulatory requirements while minimizing trade-offs on score performance.
“In an increasingly competitive market, Credit Optics Full Spectrum Auto helps lenders gain the insights needed to stay ahead of the competition,” said Ajay Nigam, chief executive officer of ID Analytics.
“Conventional credit scores typically provide only a partial view of consumer behavior and its associated risk,” Nigam continued. “By combining this information with alternative data, automotive lenders can enhance their underwriting strategies with the goals of extending more competitive loan terms to consumers across the credit spectrum, and increasing book-to-look ratios while minimizing their exposure to risk.”
ID Analytics’ Credit Optics Full Spectrum Auto is available today. Interested finance companies can send a message to [email protected] or go to www.idanalytics.com/industries/automotive-lending.
Lyft and Uber drivers not only might have a path to generate funds for a down payment when acquiring a vehicle at certain dealerships, they also could take advantage of a solution to help their credit situation.
DriveItAway, a company concentrating on dealer-focused shared mobility, announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with Get Credit Healthy to pilot what the operations say is the first “no strings” free national credit repair/rehabilitation service for Lyft and Uber drivers.
The companies explained this opportunity to rebuild personal credit is free to all drivers in a dealer-supplied vehicle on the DriveItAway Car Sharing platform, with no obligation to use any particular vehicle, dealership provider, or any vehicle purchase commitment.
After a week in good standing, all drivers on the DriveItAway dealer Car Sharing platform can receive a free invitation to utilize Get Credit Healthy’s credit rehabilitation service, which has been seamlessly integrated into the DriveItAway driver app. The service remains free, as long as the driver remains a DriveItAway customer.
On the dealer side, DriveItaway has integrated Get Credit Healthy’s leading fintech platform, to provide its dealer partners with data intelligence and sales lead recovery that turns credit “fall out” into funded vehicle loans and sales.
Chief executive officer John Possumato insisted this life-improvement service is a true differentiator and fits right in line with DriveItAway’s mission to put all of its clients on a “path to ownership.” Possumato explained all ride share drivers will be able to access it right from the platform, free of charge, and it will help all dealers facilitate a vehicle sale to all those drivers who are looking to buy.
“This is an industry first, in that this type of service has not yet been offered in this “no strings” way. Partnering with a company like Get Credit Healthy in order to offer the best comprehensive credit remediation program for our longer-term drivers is a natural step for us,” Possumato said.
“This fits perfectly with exclusively car dealer clients who provide temporary vehicles for Lyft and Uber drivers,” he continued. “It is fully compliant, as there is no obligation for a renter-recipient to buy a vehicle from any specific car dealer, nor is there any obligation to buy a vehicle at all.
“Our goal is to make it a win for all and, with the ‘on-demand’ employment ride sharing provides, improve lives by making it easy for everyone to increase income and improve credit,” Possumato went on to say.
Get Credit Healthy CEO Elizabeth Karwowski elaborated about why her company chose to align with DriveItAway.
“Get Credit Healthy’s traditional partners have been financial institutions, mortgage companies, and municipalities,” Karwowski said. “The common mission of our two companies is to provide our clients with the means to improve their financial lives and provide them with the necessary tools and education to help them sustain those improvements.
At Get Credit Healthy, we are passionate about providing consumers with the tools and resources they need to eliminate debt, build credit and make sound financial decisions,” she continued.
“That’s why we are delighted to be launching this new program with DriveItAway, and to make this life improvement option available for the first time to members of the new ‘gig economy’ in shared mobility,” Karwowski added.
For more information, all current or potential drivers interested in the program are encouraged to visit this website.
DriveItAway will be introducing this new feature to its turn-key car sharing for ride sharing program for dealers at the National Automobile Dealers Convention this week in San Francisco.
To learn more or to set up a private meeting to talk about the benefits of implementing mobility as a service at your store, visit www.driveitaway.com/nada2019.
LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS (Launcher), a technology provider specializing in subprime auto finance originations, recently announced its successful integration with LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
The alliance is designed to give subprime finance companies access to alternative data within Launcher’s appTRAKER loan origination system. The intended results not only could help increase finance company efficiencies, but also enhance understanding of the risk and credit worthiness of their potential customers.
Launcher created the appTRAKER loan origination system to cater to subprime finance companies that demand more from their software, including the need for quicker decisioning and smoother integration with vendor data that could help lenders make more intelligent credit decisions. In the subprime/near-prime space, Launcher president Nikh Nath acknowledged that credit approvals are not always granted based on a credit score, meaning that it’s often an arduous process for lenders to sort out the profitable deals from the rest.
“We created appTRAKER Loan Origination System to help lenders build stronger portfolios through a faster, more reliable system with the ideal workflow for subprime … a major part of that workflow is risk assessment,” Nath said.
“Working with LexisNexis Risk Solutions gives our clients access to additional data that can be used for Autodecisioning, risk-based pricing, and in conjunction with scorecards resulting in a more streamlined decision-making process,” Nath continued.
Launcher’s integration with LexisNexis RiskView can offer lenders the ability to utilize non-tradeline data in an automated manner via Autodecisioning to improve credit risk analysis.
“Every business today is operating in the decision economy,” said Solomon Semere, director of credit risk strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “When an auto lender can make quick, confident credit decisions, the business is going to grow profitably.
"This alliance between Launcher and LexisNexis Risk Solutions helps auto lenders thrive in the decision economy and come out the winners," Semere went on to say.
The Federal Trade Commission announced consumers — especially individuals who are trying to repair their credit profiles and are concerned about identity theft or data breaches — can freeze their credit and place one-year fraud alerts for free.
Under the new Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, the FTC explained consumers in some states — those who previously had to pay fees to freeze their credit — will no longer have to do so.
Officials noted that a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, restricts access to a consumer’s credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in the consumer’s name. The new law also allows parents to freeze for free the credit of their children who are under 16, while guardians, conservators and those with a valid power of attorney can get a free freeze for their dependents.
In addition, the FTC said the new law extends the duration of a fraud alert on a consumer’s credit report from 90 days to one year. A fraud alert requires businesses that check a consumer’s credit to get the consumer’s approval before opening a new account.
As part of its work to implement the new law, the Federal Trade Commission has updated its IdentityTheft.gov website with credit bureau contact information in an attempt to make it easier for consumers to take advantage of the new provisions outlined in the law.
To place a credit freeze on their accounts, consumers will need to contact all three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Whether consumers ask for a freeze online or by phone, the credit bureau must put the freeze in place within one business day.
When consumers request to lift the freeze by phone or online, the credit bureaus must take that action within one hour. (If consumers make these requests by mail, the agency must place or lift the freeze within three business days.)
To place a fraud alert, consumers need only contact one of the three credit bureaus, which will notify the other two bureaus.
The regulator insisted credit freezes and fraud alerts are two important steps consumers can take to help prevent identity theft. Identity theft was the second biggest category of consumer complaints reported to the FTC in 2017 — making up nearly 14 percent of all the consumer complaints filed last year.
Consumers who believe they have been the victim of identity theft can report it and receive a personalized recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
Two service providers perhaps already being leveraged at your store now are working together to help you turn more financed deliveries.
This week, Auto/Mate Dealership Systems integrated its dealership management system (DMS) with ProMax, a leading supplier of retail automotive CRM/ILM, desking, credit and compliance software.
The companies highlighted that dealers using both Auto/Mate and ProMax solutions can benefit from the enhanced sales, lead, marketing and productivity management tools available through real-time data exchanges between the two systems.
“ProMax is a proven, award-winning company that designs software to give dealerships a competitive edge in a demanding market,” said Mike Esposito, president and chief executive officer of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems.
“Additionally, ProMax provides a variety of services to help dealers generate, follow up and market to leads, as well as tools and training to close customers for a complete front-end solution,” Esposito continued.
Auto/Mate’s integration program, Open/Mate, is based on open standards, allowing third-party vendors to easily integrate with the DMS. The company said some DMS providers charge third parties expensive certification fees, the cost of which is usually passed onto their auto dealer customers.
Auto/Mate emphasized that its open integration program keeps integration costs low for vendors, saving dealers money while providing them with more vendor choices.
ProMax’s advanced lead tracking and CRM management tools can enable dealers to identify the best-performing lead sources, create targeted marketing campaigns and drive more customer traffic to the showroom. ProMax software solutions can streamline the vehicle-buying process for customers and improve sales team performance, leading to more deals.
“Auto/Mate customers that are used to a high level of customer service and support can expect the same stellar experience and ease of use with all of our ProMax solutions,” said Darian Miller, chief technology officer of ProMax.
“Additionally, we appreciate Auto/Mate’s low-cost integration process so that we don’t have to pass high integration and certification costs to our dealer customers,” Miller went on to say.
Updated information from Equifax showed the auto finance industry is continuing to back off originations versus the brisk pace still in place a year ago.
According to data shared this week with SubPrime Auto Finance News, Equifax reported that there have been 1.841 million retail installment contracts originated through April to consumers with a VantageScore 3.0 credit score below 620. These contracts are generally considered subprime accounts.
Analysts computed this origination volume represents a 4.5-percent decrease versus the span through April of last year. Equifax tabulated these newly issued contracts have a corresponding total balance of $32.9 billion, marking a 3.5 percent decrease year-over-year.
Through April, Equifax found that 23.1 percent of all installment contracts were issued to consumers with a subprime credit score, and they accounted for 18.3 percent of origination balances. At this juncture in 2017, the credit bureau pegged the account share at 24.3 percent and balance share at 19.5 percent.
Overall, Equifax reported that 7.96 million installment contracts, totaling $179.7 billion, were originated through April. The metrics marked 0.3-percent increase in accounts and a 2.7-percent increase in balances over this time last year.
Equifax added that installment contracts represent 85.8 percent of all auto originations and 89.4 percent of auto origination balances through the first four months of 2018.
Analysts went on to say that the average originated amount for all installment issued in April was $22,917, representing a 3.6-percent increase year-over-year. The average subprime amount was $18,411, marking a 2.3-percent increase compared to a year earlier.
Leasing figures
While not as prevalent as it is in the prime space, Equifax carved out figures connected with vehicle leasing to subprime consumers.
Analysts reported that 124,300 vehicle leases had been originated through April to consumers with a VantageScore 3.0 credit score below 620. That volume constituted a 2.1-percent decrease year-over-year.
Equifax tabulated that these newly issued leases have a corresponding total balance of $2.14 billion, a 2.3 percent decrease year-over-year.
Through April, analysts added 9.5 percent of vehicle leases were issued to consumers with a subprime credit score. During the same span in 2017, the share was 9.8 percent.
Looking at overall leasing activity, Equifax determined that more than 1.31 million vehicles leases, totaling $21.34 billion, were originated through April. These figures marked a 1.3-percent increase in accounts, but a 1.0-percent dip in balances versus the same junction a year earlier.
Analysts indicated vehicle leases accounted for 14.2 percent of all auto accounts originated through April and 10.6 percent of balances.
Equifax added that the average origination balance for all vehicle leases issued in April was $16,329; a figure that softened 3.04 percent year-over-year. The average subprime lease amount came in at $17,333; a dip of 1.19 percent from a year ago.
Analysts noted that lease origination values reflect the contract amounts only and exclude expected vehicle residual values.
Overall observations
Equifax deputy chief economist Gunnar Blix reviewed the latest figures and offered these observations.
“Consumer Credit Trends show that originations through April of this year, as reported through June, both in terms of accounts (up 0.5 percent) and balances (up 2.3 percent) are up over the same time last year,” Blix said.
“Our data indicate that a bump in lease activity as well as a continued shift toward affordable used cars may be driving the trend, and these increases are primarily being driven by customers with prime credit,” he continued.
“Auto outstanding balances in June, up 3.6 percent from the previous year, topped one and a quarter trillion,” Blix went on to say.
Now all three major credit bureaus have made a move to bolster their offerings within the alternative-data space.
On Monday, Equifax announced that it has acquired DataX, a leading specialty finance credit reporting agency and alternative data provider to finance companies nationwide.
Through DataX, Equifax highlighted that it can help finance companies expand credit access and broaden financial inclusion for more consumers, specifically in underbanked populations. DataX’s data assets complement the Equifax core credit database adding alternative credit and payment data, analytics and identity solutions on underbanked consumers to the installment loan, rent-to-own and lease-to-own markets.
Additional offerings include credit reporting, ID verification, bank account verification and custom risk services.
“Giving consumers fair access to credit has always been a key economic driver for upward mobility, and this acquisition will help more consumers gain access to credit and capital,” said Trey Loughran, president of United States information solutions at Equifax.
“The combination of DataX’s data with Equifax’s unique and robust data assets will add more depth to consumer’s profiles and will help lenders expand borrowing options,” Loughran continued.
Loughran went on to note that the acquisition of DataX complements other unique Equifax data assets that help provide greater depth and reach to those seeking credit such as The Work Number, one of the nation’s largest centralized repository of payroll data, managed by Equifax.
“Only 39 percent of Americans are able to cover a $1,000 emergency expense, which means the majority of people at some point will need some type of financial assistance,” said Jon Geidel, president of DataX.
“For more than 14 years, DataX’s mission has been to support our partners to find more reasons to include underbanked consumers. Joining Equifax complements our mission and affords consumers better access to the credit they deserve to meet their financial needs,” Geidel went on to say.
DataX and its employees are now part of the Equifax Banking and Lending division, according to Monday’s announcement.
The Equifax acquisition continues an alternative-data trend that stretches back to last November when TransUnion purchased FactorTrust.
And this past March, Experian highlighted how the acquisition of Clarity Services expanded its services in the alternative-data space.
The auto financing process certainly has evolved significantly for the days of paper faxes, but Equifax emphasized that pre-approvals and credit checks remain a critical component of the automotive shopping process.
Equifax unveiled additional analysis in its ongoing study of consumer credit and shopping trends with the goal of gaining a better understanding of how credit is used by a variety of consumers, as well as better understanding consumer buying power.
According to its latest findings, Equifax found prospective purchasers view credit checks and pre-approval processes differently depending on where they are in the buying process.
The findings reveal that 52 percent of prospective purchasers have undergone a credit check, while just 15 percent have the intention of getting pre-approval on their desired vehicle. Even more interesting, nearly a third (32 percent) said they do not plan to seek pre-approval during the shopping process.
Equifax maintains that clearly, dealers and auto finance companies can play a larger role in helping or encouraging more pre-approvals, which may create a less adversarial environment when it comes to negotiation as well as a more expedited shopping process.
Equifax added that another way to foster this environment is through encouraging more shoppers to create online profiles during the research phase of shopping.
“After reviewing these trends more closely, it is clear that there are additional ways dealers and financiers can help their clients move from prospective purchase to completed transaction,” said Rebecca Kritzman, senior director of automotive marketing at Equifax.
“Encouraging the creation of profiles that lead to more customized searches, securing more pre-approvals on credit and offering consultation on buying power can all lead to a higher transaction rate in a less adversarial manner, which can translate to longer satisfied customer relationships in the future.”
Consumers are constantly looking for value when shopping for a vehicle and creating an online profile through a dealer’s online portal helps.
According to the study, approximately 35 percent of consumers who did not create a profile ended up spending more than they expected on their vehicle, compared to 29 percent who said they spent less than what they expected.
Equifax explained online profiles and customized search processes can help consumers navigate to better options that suit their specific needs, helping to build trust with dealers.
Buying power consultation is a critical component in helping consumers complete the auto shopping process.
The study showed men (37 percent) and women (39 percent) who recently completed a purchase said they received consultation on their buying power either before or during the shopping process. This compares to just a quarter of prospective purchasers overall who said they received consultation.
With more data than ever to consider, the National Automotive Finance Association and the American Financial Services Association highlighted seven of the most important findings from this the 2018 Non-Prime Automotive Finance Survey.
Released last week during the annual Non-Prime Auto Finance Conference, the NAF Association and AFSA collaborated with FICO, TransUnion, IHS Markit and Black Book to generate the report that serves as a key source of benchmarking for those who participate in or support non-prime automotive financing.
The 2018 report represents 40 financing sources and $34.6 billion in principal balance as of the end of 2017 — an increase for the seventh consecutive year.
In addition to key financial metrics, this report helps to promote best practices and collective knowledge of leading industry professionals to ensure that financing companies can meet their portfolio goals and work effectively with their dealers, liquidity providers, vendors and other partners to create compelling customer value.
This year’s data survey has been managed by FICO and provided the analysis and conclusions in the report.
Key findings from the survey include:
• Non-prime portfolio balances have increased 5.3 percent year-over-year in 2017. However, the number of contracts originated in each of the last two years has decreased.
• Competition remains robust overall, but niches of underserved sub-segments still exist.
• Financial metrics were mixed overall and softened for some.
• Automated origination activity is increasing.
• Rise in dealer, first-party and synthetic identification fraud
• Used-vehicle depreciation was mitigated by destructive hurricanes, which increased the demand for used vehicles.
• The customers of non-prime auto finance companies represent mainstream America.
The survey report, which has been produced for the past 22 years, is distributed at no cost to finance company participants. Others may purchase a copy of the report for $500. Ordering is available online at nafassociation.com.
