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The all-star of Ally Financial: Doug Timmerman, Auto Finance Executive of the Year
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Santander, TFS execs to discuss payment trends at Auto Finance Innovation Summit
Two distinguished executives from Santander Consumer USA and Toyota Financial Services are set to discuss new payment technologies during a March 10 panel discussion at the 5th annual Auto Finance Innovation Summit.
The event will take place at the Omni San Diego on March 10-11, directly following the Auto Finance Sales & Marketing Summit. Check out the full agenda here.
The panel will feature an open dialogue between Chris Mitcham, SCUSA’s senior vice president of business development and service for others, and Kim Cockrell, TFS’s vice president of service operations. The executives will discuss best practices for mobile payment strategies and share tips for app development and leveraging digital wallets.
The event will include sessions that explore tech to bolster acquisition and increase conversion rates, developing tools that scale and best practices for maintaining the perfect fintech relationship.
As the industry’s news source, Auto Finance News is dedicated to uncovering technology disruption and how companies are investing in innovation. The event will explore how captive and non-captive lenders are innovating through data-driven approaches to improve operational efficiencies and streamlining servicing and collection practices.
To learn more — or to register — for this year’s event, visit the Auto Finance Accelerate homepage here.
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An inside look at Mazda Financial Services
Karen Ideno, GVP, Mazda Financial Services
With more than a decade at the helm of sales and marketing initiatives at Toyota Financial Services, Group Vice President Karen Ideno has been instrumental in developing and growing the TFS brand. In turn, Ideno’s appointment this year to oversee the captive’s newly created Mazda Financial Services business was a natural fit.
In her new role, Ideno is responsible for Mazda Financial Services’ sales and marketing activities, product development, market planning, branding, remarketing, analytics, insurance, and operations functions. She reports to Pete Carey, TFS group vice president and president of Mazda Financial.
With 550 dealers nationwide, Mazda North American Operations reported an 8.2% sales decline — to 252,061 vehicles — through November 2019. “Currently, we’re focused on assembling a top-tier salesforce to support Mazda dealer needs, and we’re preparing to deploy innovative technology solutions in advance of our launch in April,” Ideno said. “We’re already providing wholesale financing solutions since that was an area where some dealers had immediate needs.”
Ideno, who joined TFS in 2006, took the reins of marketing strategy during the launch of ToyotaFinancial.com and the captive’s corporate social responsibility function. Additionally, her experience includes leading Lexus Financial Services’ sales and marketing planning and product development.
TFS — which boasts a $92 billion portfolio, according to Big Wheels data — had announced in August 2019 that it would serve as Mazda’s private-label finance provider, taking over for Chase Auto, which has served as Mazda’s financial arm under Mazda Capital Services since 2010.
When the nation’s largest auto financier entered third-party financial services via a private-label finance agreement with Mazda — the competitive atmosphere of the auto finance market thickened. As the newest player in the private-label financing space, TFS is competing with big banks like Santander Consumer USA, TD Auto Finance and Chase Auto, whose books of business range from $22 billion to $82 billion.
Yet, the captive’s move toward providing private-label financing for third-party auto lenders is a natural extension of its business. Ideno shared with Auto Finance News her primary focus on Toyota’s newest brand and her expectations for the sales landscape in 2020.
What follows is an edited version of Ideno’s conversation with AFN.
Auto Finance News: What strategies or tools are you investing in to expand the Mazda Financial Services business?
Karen Ideno: As we developed our proposal to provide services to Mazda, we spent a lot of time with them to really understand their needs. We then tailored the creation of Mazda Financial Services to support Mazda North America and the Mazda dealers.
As such, we’ve developed a customized private-label solution that leverages Toyota Financial Services’ core originations, servicing, and data and analytics competencies as well as the Toyota Financial Savings Bank operation in Nevada. We’re dedicated to creating an organization that supports Mazda sales and delivers an exceptional customer and dealer experience that drives customer loyalty.
AFN: How do you plan to deliver that exceptional experience?
KI: To create the exceptional customer and dealer experience that drives loyalty for Mazda, we have to fully support the Mazda brand. As Mazda delivers a premium experience for customers, Mazda Financial Services must also support dealers and the brand by ensuring our products and positioning reinforce that same feel and level of service.
So, it’s important for us to have a team at Mazda Financial Services that’s highly capable and skilled in both dealer and customer relations. As we’re setting up Mazda Financial Services operations, we’re drawing upon the team’s deep knowledge and expertise.
AFN: How are the marketing needs different for Mazda vehicles versus Toyota vehicles?
KI: Mazda’s brand positioning, customer expectations and dealer needs are unique from all other automakers in the market. In order to create appropriate products and services, the MFS leadership team has worked closely with Mazda North America to understand and embody their brand and their strategic business objectives to support their customers and dealers. Importantly, MFS has a separate, dedicated salesforce exclusively for Mazda that is laser-focused on meeting the needs of Mazda dealers and reinforcing the customer brand experience.
AFN: What innovative technology solutions are on the radar prior to the April launch?
KI: We’re partnering with RouteOne and many other critical business partners that are helping us create the appropriate technical solutions that will meet the unique needs of Mazda. We’ve just embarked on a dealer-enrollment project to get Mazda dealers onto the systems we’ll be using when we start operations on April 1.
AFN: What headwinds are on your radar from a sales, product and marketing perspective?
KI: 2020 is shaping up to be a highly competitive vehicle sales environment. That means our ability to provide the finance and insurance solutions that meet and exceed customer expectations is more important than ever in supporting sales. To ensure the success of Mazda dealers, we’re working closely with Mazda North America and Mazda dealers to develop products and programs that will really resonate in the market to drive sales and create brand loyalty.
AFN: What do you think is the most underrated sales and marketing strategy in auto finance?
KI: We’ve found that there can be no longterm success without ensuring that our dealer partners succeed. Taking the time to build relationships with dealers, understand their needs and provide appropriate solutions that support their profitability while caring for their customers is critical.
AFN: What are your sales and marketing priorities for 2020?
KI: My focus is exclusively on ensuring that Mazda Financial Services successfully launches on April 1 and immediately begins delivering value to Mazda North America and Mazda dealers. Once our retail finance and insurance products are up and running, we’ll closely monitor their ability to drive sales, add value to dealers, and promote customer loyalty. We’ll then adjust our programs and processes as needed.
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5 questions with Vipin Gupta of Toyota Financial
Vipin Gupta, Chief Information Officer, Toyota Financial Services
Before catching Toyota Financial Services Chief Information Officer Vipin Gupta at his fireside chat during the Auto Finance Innovation Summit, get a glimpse at his thoughts outside the boardroom.
As Chief Information Officer at the nation’s largest auto financier, Gupta leads all aspects of digital transformation and information technology to transform and expand Toyota Financial Services’ business.
In 2018, Gupta was appointed CIO at the captive, which boasts a $92 billion portfolio. Before joining Toyota, Gupta served as executive vice president and CIO for Key Community Bank, a business unit of KeyBank, where he drove customer-focused digital transformation. Before KeyBank, he served as business information officer at PNC/National City Bank.
Gupta previously told AFE that his goal for TFS is to usher in a future of mobility services to the captive. He said TFS will drive innovation by focusing on three strategic objectives: agility, digital experiences and using data and analytics to deliver new services. Since joining TFS, Gupta has fostered a digital-savvy workforce via an internal learning program for employees and business partners called TFS Digital Academy.
Gupta’s fireside chat during The Auto Finance Innovation Summit takes place on Tuesday, March 10 at the Omni San Diego, directly following the Auto Finance Sales & Marketing Summit. Check out the full agenda here.
Auto Finance Excellence asked Gupta five questions to learn about his company goals, advice that has helped him earn top management roles, and a surprising fact that his colleagues might never expect.
AFE: What are your company goals in 10 words or less?
Vipin Gupta: We’re enriching lives by enabling mobility.
AFE: What is your favorite piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?
VG: Before you can lead others, you have to lead yourself. You have to believe that what you do counts for something. Leadership begins with you. This is from the authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, of the 1987 book, “The Leadership Challenge.”
AFE: What do you think is the most underrated trend in lending practices?
VG: The most underrated trend in our industry continues to be the ability to truly know your customer. That applies to all auto finance customers, including dealers, businesses and consumers. This is at the core of every aspect of our business. It should drive the decisions we make, the products we offer, the rates we deliver, the discounts we provide, the loyalty we promote and the experiences we deliver on customer-chosen channels.
AFE: What person has had the biggest influence on your career?
VG: My dad was a huge influence on my career in my early formative days, and continues to inspire me even today. Now, at 80 years old, he is active in his community, he teaches yoga every morning and volunteers at medical camps. He instilled simple principles in us: Be who you are, respect and be respected, and work harder than everyone else around you.
AFE: What’s something all your employees would be surprised to learn about you?
VG: I self-learned to read and write Tamil language, but I can’t speak it and I don’t understand it.
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Bank of America, Gateway Financial, HCA, TFS address consumer affordability concerns
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Ford, Toyota, Cap One inject $4.6B into ABS market
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TFS expands service with new dealer hubs
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Toyota Financial gears up digital customization for Mazda
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Auto lenders avoid significant layoffs in Texas
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COVID-19: Auto finance faces the global pandemic [FEATURE]
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Top 3 states exposed to credit losses
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Prime issuers inject $3.6B into ABS market
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Toyota Financial holds cash in excess of funding needs
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Can auto ABS weather the pandemic?
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Mazda Financial Services partners with defi SOLUTIONS
defi SOLUTIONS is pleased to announce the end-to-end solution go-live for the private label Mazda Financial Services (MFS) business delivered through Toyota Motor Credit Corporation.
This solution encompasses a full suite of defi products and services that include the defi XLOS originations platform, defi SERVICING, the innovative defi CONNECT SERVICING portal that connects borrowers to lenders, and back-office processes – including full titles, cash management, toll violations, and support for collections, recoveries, and remarketing delivered through defi’s business processes operations center in Amherst, NY.
The entire multi-product, multi-service solution was configured and implemented to fit the specific needs and unique specifications of MFS in only seven months.
“This project with TMCC is a blueprint for growth for the auto finance industry and an example of a true partnership,” said Bret Leech, CEO, defi SOLUTIONS. “I’m especially appreciative of the efforts on the parts of all teams involved at TMCC, MFS and defi. We came together from concept to completion to quickly deliver a platform unprecedented in its breadth, quality, scalability, and cost effectiveness.
“We trusted defi to partner and work collaboratively with our teams to deliver critical solutions and execute an on-time project launch,” said Pete Carey, president, Mazda Financial Services. “We’re excited about the success of this partnership and the opportunities it will provide our business.”
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Big Wheels: Outstandings hit record $1.2T despite slowdown
The auto finance market eked out 4.6% in growth in 2019, as loan and lease outstandings hit an all-time high of $1.2 trillion, buoyed by a strong economy, solid lending metrics and innovation investments, according to the newly released Big Wheels Auto Finance Data Report.
Big Wheels is the nation’s only ranking of the top 100 auto financiers in the U.S. by outstandings and originations.
Toyota Financial Services nabbed the top spot for the fourth straight year, ending 2019 with $94.4 billion of loans and leases outstanding and $46.3 billion of originations. Chase Auto, Ally Financial, GM Financial, and Ford Motor Credit rounded out the top five by outstandings.
Though a couple banks exited the space last year, captives, credit unions and finance companies picked up the slack and increased originations despite a 1.2% decline in new-vehicle sales. In fact, originations increased 8.5% last year, the highest growth rate since 2015.
Meanwhile, finance companies that cater to consumers with tarnished credit histories picked up the lending pace quickest last year.
“Financiers last year leveraged innovative alliances and investments in fresh technology to grow their portfolios and control losses despite a slowdown in vehicle sales,” said Marcie Belles, Vice President of Auto Finance at Royal Media, and author of the report. “Yet, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is on track for a ‘new normal’ in vehicle sales and finance.”
Given that the report was prepared during the middle of one of the worst crises ever faced by the industry, the report includes a forecast that maps the trajectory for auto finance in 2021 and beyond.
“The COVID-19 pandemic could very well erase all the auto finance gains recorded in the past decade,” Belles said. “We are bound to see lenders shutter operations amid rising unemployment and excessive losses. Yet those financiers that develop creative auto finance solutions and take online lending to the next level are poised to grow in the post-pandemic era.”
Released today, the Big Wheels Auto Finance Data Report is the nation’s only ranking of the Top 100 auto financiers in the United States by outstandings and originations. The report features a one-of-a-kind data tool that allows users to access 12 years of historical data. The data tool includes functionality that enables users to filter, sort, analyze year-over-year, and export outstandings and originations data.
The 2020 Big Wheels Auto Finance Data Report is available at www.BigWheelsData.com.
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Electric vehicles: how captives are protecting their OEM’s investments [Feature]
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Mazda Financial Services: Creating a digitally conscious captive [Spotlight]
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The post Mazda Financial Services: Creating a digitally conscious captive [Spotlight] first appeared on Auto Finance News.
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Mazda Financial’s Pete Carey joins AFS executive panel
The Auto Finance Summit is pleased to welcome Pete Carey, president of Mazda Financial Services and vice president at Toyota Financial Services, to the 2020 speaker faculty. The 2020 virtual event is Oct. 20-22, with the live executive panel kicking things off on Oct. 20 at 11 a.m. ET. The Summit has for 20 years provided an opportunity for experts to come together to discuss challenges facing the industry.
Carey will join fellow senior executives from some of the largest auto financiers to discuss the industry’s trajectory and strategies for overcoming looming challenges and the dynamic credit cycle. The panel also includes Chrysler Capital’s Shawn Allgood, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.’s Kevin Cullum, USAA Bank’s Renee Horne and Bank of America’s Tim Owens.
Carey oversees all aspects of Toyota Financial Services’ private label business and the relationship with Mazda Motor of America, Inc. Before leading Mazda Financial Services, he served as group vice president of Toyota Financial’s service operations and was chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota Financial Savings Bank, where he oversaw a wide range of customer and dealer service functions.
Prior to his current role, Carey also oversaw 800 team members in 30 field offices and three regional offices as Toyota Financial Services’ group vice president of sales, marketing, insurance and product. He also was vice president and general manager of Toyota Motor Sales’ San Francisco region.
Carey has held multiple positions within Toyota Financial since joining the company in 1993. His accomplishments include maximizing acquisitions and building relationships with key stakeholders and division partners while serving as vice president of sales. Under his leadership as corporate manager of commercial finance, that area of TFS delivered a $100 million year-over-year turnaround in 2011.
Learn more and register for the Auto Finance Summit to participate in important discussions as the auto finance industry continues to face challenges and uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The post Mazda Financial’s Pete Carey joins AFS executive panel first appeared on Auto Finance News.
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Auto ABS: A look at the industry’s golden goose [Feature]
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The post Auto ABS: A look at the industry's golden goose [Feature] first appeared on Auto Finance News.
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