Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL), a point-of-sale lending network for credit unions in the United States has begun operations in Florida, according to Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of CU Direct Corporation. South Florida Acceptance Corp (SFAC), a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) established by several Florida credit unions, will oversee all underwriting, loan processing, as well as coordinate and maintain dealership relationships for the credit unions participating with SFAC and utilizing the CUDL program in the region.

The SFAC, the first CUSO organization of its kind working under the CUDL program, will operate as a full service indirect lending program for the South Florida credit unions. Through the use of the CUDL system, SFAC says it will handle retail installment contracts from local dealers and then use a pre-established routing system to forward the contracts to the appropriate credit union for funding. Auto financing rates are set and monitored by the SFAC to ensure a full spread of financing rates are maintained in the region. New members signed on by dealers are assigned to credit unions based on their field of membership requirements and a revolving system to ensure new members are distributed evenly.

“We are extremely excited to work with a CUSO like the SFAC in Florida,” stated Jerry Neemann, SVP business operations of CU Direct Corporation. “This business model allows the south Florida credit unions to establish a coordinated presence at the dealerships and provides them with a cost effective means of competing with banks and captives at the point-of-sale.”

“The CUDL program offers our credit unions a significant amount of benefits they could not achieve on their own,” said Greg Blount, president and CEO of Tropical Credit Union. “With the CUDL system and SFAC, the credit unions have immediate access to the hardware and software they need for a successful indirect lending program without a substantial cash investmentcredit unions just need to set up their internal database to connect with the CUDL system.”

J

im Sturdy, an auto industry veteran who designed SFAC’s internal processes, will serve as general manager for SFAC and helm the expansion efforts of the program. The CUDL program will initially begin with a number of dealerships in three Southern Florida counties with plans to sign on additional dealerships and credit unions within the coming months.

About Credit Union Direct Lending

Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, 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 1,798 dealerships and 236 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.