All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
BCT veterans back in the subprime business
Several key staff from mothballed subprime lender British Credit Trust have regrouped to form a new car finance broker, Just Motor Finance Based in High Wycombe, Just was formed in August, with Tamsin Powell, Ray Parkinson, Tony Ordish and Jon Guthrie, all ex-British Credit Trust management, as directors.
Car finance is a ‘minefield’, says Alphera
Only one in five customers at dealerships has an understanding of the motor finance products available to them, claims Alphera Financial Services.
Editor’s letter: now is the time to take stock
I recently attended the annual F&I conference and awards dinner hosted by Frontline Solutions, where I was honoured to be asked to open the days proceedings with a presentation giving my overview of the point of sale market.
Eagle eyes on the top spot
A year after completing monumental changes in office location, systems and company organisation, Barclays Partner Finance (BPF) has emerged as a serious contender for the top spot in the motor finance market. While BPF looks different to its competitors in many ways it does not yet have HP, PCP or wholesale finance offerings, and runs a non-motor retail finance portfolio as large as its motor finance business it is just the same as any of them in its hunger to pick up and develop dealer relationships.
The loan arranger
Fred Crawley and Charles Wheeldon talk to Steven Baillie, head of loans at Sainsburys Finance, about the supermarket giants plans in the motor finance market. More than at any point in the past three years, dealer finance lenders are recognising personal loan providers as a source of robust competition in the car finance market.
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Making partnerships work
In this fifth round table discussion hosted by Motor Finance and Frontline Solutions, industry insiders were invited to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, for a discussion about the relationships between finance house representatives and the dealerships they serve and how these can be improved upon. The following pages provide highlights from the conversation that followed, in which funders and dealers spoke frankly about the issues and frustrations they face.
Editor’s letter: Credit where credit’s due
Usually I reserve this space for a fairly specific discussion of an issue facing the motor finance industry be it cost of funds, retail penetration or whatever else has made headlines in a given month. I have seen a report on consumer attitudes towards dealer finance, another on online marketing in the industry, and a lot of interesting numbers found while researching the difference between the captive finance markets of Europe (not so easy in August when everyone on the continent very sensibly takes a holiday).
Collections round table: Tough times to remain
The UKs motor finance collections specialists foresee tougher operating conditions ahead, but expect to face them with efficient departments honed by experience of the post-recession collections environment. While rising default rates and increasing levels of regulation are issues of concern, recent improvements in fraud prevention and an improved level of communication between the sales and collections functions of motor finance businesses have been hailed as improvements seen across the board.
RBS, GE end talks for Lombard VM
Talks between Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and GE Capital over the sale of the banks Lombard Vehicle Management have ended. RBS put the business up for sale in June as part of the 84% state-owned banks disposal of non-core assets and GE Capital was immediately identified as a likely bidder. However, talks between US-based GE Capital and RBS ended after the two parties failed to agree a price for the vehicle leasing business
Athlon deal with Tesla
Athlon Car Lease and electric car maker Tesla Motors have teamed up to provide a lease option for the manufacturers vehicles in Europe. Through the deal Athlon, a division of Dutch asset finance company De Lage Landen, will lease the Tesla Roadster and Roadster Sport across the six of the nine European countries in which it operates. The Tesla cars will be available initially to Athlon customers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands which have been identified as core markets for Tesla.