LenderHub

Companies in every industry have had to adapt to growing consumer expectations for financial interactions that are fast, easy, and secure. Experiences with online retail firms like Amazon have conditioned consumers to expect a seamless payment process where debit or credit cards can be used with the click of a button from any device—or even activated through voice commands. That retail experience has evolved into strong bill payment preferences that have influenced how consumers want to manage their loan payments.

It’s no secret that the demographic makeup of a financial institution’s membership is changing. As Boomers near retirement, their children are entering the mid-career phase of their lives, and their grandchildren are starting their financial journey. Each of these demographic segments has different product and service needs, as well as differing expectations from their financial service providers.

Delinquencies in the auto loan landscape are the highest they’ve been in the past decade. According to the New York Fed's recent blog post, 2018 was marked by historically high levels of newly originated loans in the auto industry, with $584 billion in new auto loans and leases showing up on credit reports. At the end of 2018, more than 7 million American borrowers were behind on their auto loans by 90 days or more.

In this age of digital communication, smartphones, smartwatches, and instant information, consumers don’t have to look far—or at all (Hello, digital ad retargeting!)—to find companies that are chomping at the bit to serve them in just about any capacity. While this is great for consumers, it poses a challenge to lenders. How can financial institutions rise above the increasingly large pool of competitors to win a borrower’s business? Fortunately, traditional financial institutions already offer their customers many advantages, and focusing on those existing advantages is the key to winning business and deepening your existing relationship.

I look forward to CUDATA.COM’s statistics and trends report each quarter. It gives our team insights into what our industry is experiencing and how that will impact our clients and their members. 2018 ended on a high note, and we are seeing a strong start to 2019. Here are some notable KPIs from the report:

Imagine a world where ‘It got lost in the mail’ is no longer a viable excuse for late or missed payments. Not only is payment processing an essential operation for any business, it is also a point of contact that directly correlates with customer satisfaction. If there was a way to increase borrower satisfaction by tweaking your payments process to a more convenient model, would you buy in?

As leaders in the mortgage lending industry, we have the distinct privilege of working directly with key decision makers at lending institutions to learn about their challenges and provide solutions. When it comes to ensuring their collateral is properly valued, lenders and servicers have been very vocal about wanting property valuations that are cost effective and offer the confidence of a field appraisal.

When you're in the business of auto lending, collateral recovery can be an expensive and risky endeavor. While no lender wants to repossess their borrowers' vehicles, sometimes it's necessary in order to recoup as much of your asset as possible. That being said, when you work with third-party recovery partners, it's critical that you ensure they have a documented code of conduct for their agents. Because these individuals are dealing directly with your borrowers and are a reflection of your financial institution, proper conduct practices are important to preserve your brand and reputation. Every organization should have a policy that is unique to their culture and company rules, but here are 7 examples of some of the prohibited behaviors that you should look for in your collateral recovery partners' code of conduct.

Think back to a moment when you’ve left a restaurant, a hotel, maybe a store, and you witness a high-quality customer experience. It could’ve been a small detail or several small details, that when added up provided you, a very different experience. It’s these little experiences more and more retail shops are embracing to stand out from the crowd. The demand for high-quality experiences has spilled over into the financial services market in recent years, thanks to increased competition from traditional and non-traditional financial institutions. Now, more than ever, consumers have a wide range of banking options including loan payment options.

Everybody in lending knows that collateral recovery and vehicle repossessions are unpleasant and unenjoyable for all parties involved. Unfortunately, it's a part of business in auto lending. And as long as your financial institution and its staff are tracking collateral and assets, you'll encounter angry, hostile borrowers who will make asset collection as difficult as possible. Here are some tips for how to deal with hostile debtors when your financial institution staff, field agents, and repossession agents are trying to recover collateral.