Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) has announced the Fifth Annual Auto Lending Symposium will be held on June 18–20 at the Rio Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Registration has begun for the two-day Symposium, which is open to all credit unions with an indirect lending program or interested in developing one.

Some of the top automotive industry keynote and session speakers featured include: Bill Brooks, President, The Brooks Group; Ed Lapham, Editor, Automotive News; David Mingle, President, Chrome Systems; and Tom Kontos, VP Industry Relations, Adesa Corporation.

The annual CUDL Auto Lending Symposium is a forum for credit union executive management teams to learn more about the auto industry in order to build effective relationships with the dealers in their communities and ultimately increase their auto loan market share. Attendees will have an opportunity to network with peers and participate in several educational and roundtable sessions.

Scheduled sessions will cover such topics as how to effectively convert new credit union members from indirect lending programs; successfully managing credit union inventory; best practices in marketing; and effective methods to analyze the profitability of indirect lending programs. A special CEO and VP of Lending roundtable session will feature representatives from Syncata, a consulting group for auto finance organizations, who will present an environmental scan of the various credit union lending platforms.

This year’s Symposium will feature panels of General Managers and F & I Managers from major dealerships from around the nation who will discuss financing policies, credit union relationships and member relations. CUDL will also recognize the credit unions that demonstrated “best practices” in their indirect lending programs over the past year.

Early registration is $445 through May 20, and $475 after that date. Complete details including online registration form, agenda, hotel accommodations, and golf tournament and museum tour registrations are available at www.ccul.org/cudl_symposium.

Based in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, CU Direct Corporation administers the Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) program, which allows members to receive credit union financing at the auto dealership through an automated decisioning system. CU Direct develops custom applications, training, and marketing programs to help credit unions achieve their indirect lending goals. The CUDL program includes 1,848 dealerships and 243 participating credit unions in California, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Florida. In 2002, participating CUDL credit unions funded 177,011 contracts for more than $3.3 billion in credit union auto financing. For more information visit www.cudirect.com.