Since the summer, a number of credit unions and other financialinstitutions have turned to Facebook as a possible strategy togenerate new loans.

Shastic, a technical services provider in Berkeley, Calif.,previously rolled out AutoCalcubot, a social loan calculator forfinancial institutions. The tool allows lenders to take advantageof their Facebook presence by saving auto loan estimates on theirpages as well as soliciting feedback from friends and family, thecompany said.

Credit Union Times first reported on AutoCalcubot in June.

AutoCalcubot said its Alert Me feature monitors interest rateschanges and notifies the user of savings opportunities. Shasticsaid the tool can also increase loan revenue by directing prospectsfrom Facebook to the financial institution's online loanapplication.

Despite the prevalence of Facebook in the daily lives of mostfinancial consumers, Shastic said a recent study revealed that only15% of financial institutions use Facebook to engage with usersinterested in loans. The study found that even fewer create anykind of lead generation activity from their Facebook pages.

The $3.2 billion Kinecta Federal Credit Union in Manhattan Beach, Calif., saidAutoCalcubot has created initial enthusiasm among its members.

“Given the cost that we pay for Calcubot, for the annual fee, Ican tell you that those funded loan applications will truly coverthat many times over,” said Shannon Doiron, director ofmarketing.

Shastic said there are 30 credit unions among its customers,including the $3.4 billion Logix FCU in Burbank, Calif., $1.2billion Numerica CU in Spokane, Wash., and the $863 million ScottCU in Edwardsville, Ill.

Shastic said there is a growing shift among some financialinstitutions from a purely physical world to a hybriddigital/physical world or bricks and mortar to clicks andbricks.

The company said with AutoCalcubot and its sister product,MortgageCalcubot, credit unions and banks can convert Facebookusers from casual car shoppers to loan savants who prefer theirfinancial products.

The company said it is backed by Berkeley Ventures, a high-techincubator in Berkeley, and is also a partner with mobile bankingsolutions provider Access Softek, which works with over 300financial institutions.