LOS ANGELES — Near- and subprime lender Westlake Financial Services has promoted Ian Anderson to the position of president. Anderson steps in at a crucial time, as Westlake enters into a new partnership that will expand their credit capacity by $60 million.

New president

Anderson has served as Westlake's senior v.p. of production, business strategy and analytics since joining the company in 2005. He previously held positions at Bayview Acceptance and Triad Financial as a loan officer, marketing representative, risk analyst, six sigma black belt and product manager.

“Our industry has faced many challenges over the past year," said Don Hankey, Westlake's chairman/CEO. "The entire Westlake team has responded by focusing on our goals and executing on our business plan. I am confident Ian will continue to lead Westlake in the right direction. He has been instrumental in overseeing significant changes in our underwriting and helped develop new processes in our origination departments.”

Anderson said that he plans to continue to focus on Westlake’s national growth as well as further development of its lending products.

“We are signing over 250 dealers a month,” Anderson said, “so we want to give our expanding dealer network the best tools to do business with. The goal is to align Westlake with companies that are the best in their field. We can then pass along the benefits of those alliances to our dealer network. Put simply, we want our dealers to be able to sell more cars.”

New credit facility

Anderson will oversee the lender's recent partnership with a commercial bank syndicate led by Wells Fargo Preferred Capital. The new facility will increase Westlake's line of credit capacity from $130 million to $190 million.

“Dealers are placing an increasing significance on lender stability and strength considering the ongoing cutbacks from their lenders,” Anderson said. “This announcement sends a strong message that Westlake is committed to offering dealers a full spectrum of financial products, 24/7 availability, and industry-leading service.”

“Westlake is excited about its new banking relationship with Wells Fargo and the ongoing commitment from the existing participants in the facility,” said Paul Kerwin, Westlake's CFO. “The increase in our facility and our current excess cash reserves will enable us to increase our product offerings to our dealers and continue our expansion.”