Marketing Agreement Makes ICUL First League to Fund Centrix Loans

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Centrix Financial L.L.C. has marketing agreements with credit union leagues in 20 states that promote the financial and risk management firm’s Portfolio Management Program. Now an innovative marketing agreement reached between the Illinois Credit Union League Service Corp., a subsidiary of the Illinois Credit Union League, and Centrix includes provisions that makes ICUL the first to market and fund Centrix PMP auto loans for the league’s credit-impaired members. ICUL Service Corp. has relationships with 200 dealers in its indirect lending program. Under the terms of the agreement, when a credit-impaired member of an Illinois credit union wants to purchase a vehicle from one of the participating dealers, the dealer will originate the indirect loan and ICUL Service Corp. will submit the loan package to Centrix. The firm in turn will underwrite the loan on terms consistent with ICUL Service Corp’s loan policies. ICUL Service Corp. will decide whether to approve the loan and will fund it. Centrix will be responsible for servicing the loan, including collecting payments and insuring loans against principal loss, thereby minimizing the costs and risks typically associated with making non-prime and sub-prime auto loans. The loans will stay on ICUL Service Corp.’s books. George Fiegle, executive vp and COO of ICUL Service Corp. said it has funded about $200 million in auto loans over the last five years. “We’re at a point in our evolution where we can do this,” he said. “ICUL’s indirect lending program is regarded in the dealer community as being a cherry picker, that is we only pick A or B paper,” said Fiegle. “Working with Centrix allows us to reach credit-impaired borrowers, and this will vastly help our regular program and give us broader reach with the dealer community. We’ll be able to offer a complete program to dealers, not just do business with dealers interested in buying grade A loans.” At year-end 2002, Centrix’s client base included 133 financials and a special finance auto loan portfolio of 29,467 loans representing more than $420 million. -