WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Stephen Bentley, chief executiveofficer, chairman and founder of Aimbridge Lending Solutions, knowsthe stakes are very high for credit unions fearful of losing automarket share, so he's making an in-person tour to discuss growthopportunities available for credit unions.

Automotive sales dropped 3% in 2006–the worst decline in eightyears–and 2007 is expected to be even worse, said Bentley.Franchise and dealer sales have also been on a downturn at 33%share of market each while casual vehicle sales (consumer toconsumer) are the only segment of the business to increase to ahefty 34% and still growing. Auto loan growth rates are down andcredit unions are only penetrating on average, 17% of their ownmember base, he said.

Aimbridge, a provider of multi-channel, multi-lender auto buyingand lending services exclusively for credit unions wants to giveCUs the tools necessary to stem that decline and further penetrateexisting membership while offering superior service to members,said Bentley and David Lindsey, vice president of technology andproduct development during an in-person interview with Credit UnionTimes.

Aimbridge Lending Solutions has partnered with credit unions andautomotive dealers to market auto loans and insurance productssince 1984. The company hosts a single platform that offers creditunions direct, indirect and Web-based lending solutions. Located inEnglewood, Colo., Aimbridge also has remote offices throughout thecountry (www.aimbridge.com). Bentley, who led the growth ofAimbridge Automotive Group, the company's direct lending division,said, “indirect lending isn't the way members want to shop anymore.Eighty percent of people look online before ever thinking ofwalking onto an auto dealer's lot.” Despite that trend, AimbridgeIndirect Lending, another division of the company, has grown to bethe second largest credit union-focused indirect lending company inthe country and has 2,500 dealers in its national indirect network.The Aimbridge Automotive Group is now one of the top 350 automobiledealerships in the country, according to company-providedinformation.

Today, Aimbridge works in 18 markets, which includes Ohio (ajoint venture with the Ohio Credit Union League), Florida (fiveprimary areas: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Daytona),Maryland (Baltimore area), Virginia (Northern Virginia andWashington, D.C.), Georgia (Atlanta area), Michigan (Detroit andwestern slope), Illinois (Chicago and Southern Illinois), Missouri,Colorado and Texas, (Dallas/Ft. Worth). Aimbridge also works withCUSOs in Illinois, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia to enable smallercredit unions to take advantage of its lending solutions.

Bentley's presentation here in Florida was at First ChoiceCredit Union and Bentley said that it had been well received.(Bentley will visit with CU members of the Ohio CU League in earlyOctober in several locations (for locations and dates visit thecompany's Web site).

Bentley covers the strategic actions CUs should undertakeincluding member base focused programs, controlling operatingcosts, quick turnaround times, using the Internet channel with theindirect channel, changing dealer relationships and leveragingtechnology. The Web offers convenience, lower costs and–if systemsare properly designed–the promise of service that members will findvaluable for saving time and making the work of choosing,researching, financing and delivery of a car or truck faster andsimpler. The concept will work equally well formulti-billion-dollar CUs as it does for plain vanilla and smallCUs, he noted. Bentley likened the process Aimbridge has created toa funnel into which the entire process of car buying was placed. Headmires the Total Quality management principles of Dr. W. EdwardsDeming and both he and Lindsey said they are “constantly looking atimproving things to make them better.”

“There's been a structural change in the world in that the Netis now a sales channel. Product is being distributed without anyoneeven touching it and that is important for credit unions tounderstand,” said Bentley. Building a national program thatincorporates all the functions of car buying/selling/financing(CU/dealer/buyer) and placing it on the Web will be the eventualfulfillment of the design Aimbridge is now working on. Members, forexample, want to know about the car. Has it been inspected? Is it alemon? The CU wants to capture the loan and the dealer wants tosell units.

The design will be debuted in stages, said Bentley. In Novemberthey will go live in Missouri, then Ohio with a distribution andaggregate system for specific dealers in a given market, saidBentley. “We aggregate the inventory from the DMS system (dealerinventory) then scrub it for updates. Then, we create a CUmarketing plan (both digital and standard direct mail, newsletters,etc.). Links are placed on Web sites so that the member never hasto leave the CU's site (except through links) to complete thepurchase.

What it will do for credit unions may give them the boost inauto lending that will keep them in a leadership position for yearsto come, while other lenders (banks) play catch up. It will provideloan generation (through a link to CUs for pre-approvals) that willhelp give them a lift in existing membership penetration– that parthas been functional at Automotive Avenues, the company's ColoradoDealership (see sidebar) for one year. The car buying service isalso live there and will be expanded to other areas gradually, hesaid.

“The endgame is to have a POS (point of sale) concept that isnational and entirely Web-based. It's the Automotive Avenuesconcept written large,” Bentley said. “This represents asubstantial investment,” he noted. Lindsey said there were otherbenefits to the CU beyond just making loans (the transaction) andserving members well. “Once you capture all this data through theWeb, it also means you can learn a lot more about members. The Weboffers thorough tracking from first interest through finaltransactions. Right now, not many CUs have any knowledge of wheretheir members are shopping for cars.

“This is exactly what the industry needs to do [utilize the Net]and we've built the infrastructure to do it. This isn't somevaporware,” said Bentley.

–[email protected]