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Rolling out the welcome mat to lenders

Las Vegas event targets consumer financing business

Capital One’s recent announcement that the consumer financing company is withdrawing from the industry brought with its departure a sizable percentage of the industry’s revolving credit partnerships. And with the industry currently riding momentum out of the Great Recession, the time is ideal to let potential revolving credit providers know more about the powersports marketplace.

That’s exactly what happened in October at the Wynn Las Vegas, where Powersports Finance 2015 was held. Held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Auto Finance Summit, the inaugural event was hosted by Royal Media’s Auto Finance News magazine and geared to offer industry pros the first dedicated full-length forum to share insights, best practices and intelligence to lenders.

Powersports lending took center stage at the Powersports Finance 2015 conference, which was held at the Wynn Las Vegas in conjunction with the 15th Annual Auto Finance Summit in October.
Powersports lending took center stage at the Powersports Finance 2015 conference, which was held at the Wynn Las Vegas in conjunction with the 15th Annual Auto Finance Summit in October.

Held the week following AIMExpo, the powersports financing summit speaker lineup included Jeff Young, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, USA. Young previously was president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors’ financing arm, and prior to that he served in various roles at Ford Motor Co.

The session lineup included several industry executives, including Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Industry Council, who started the program with a session titled “Intro to Powersports Finance.” His session provided dealer demographics and buying preferences, an overview of powersports finance products, deal structures and finance providers. Among his topics were the last four years of industry growth, and the more than 20 million people who rode last year, but don’t own a bike, showing the opportunity for growth. Buche also shared insight on key metrics including Loan-to-Value ratio, Debt-to-Income ratio and recovery rates.

Young followed with the keynote, and participated in a Q&A.

Dealership staffers then took the podium, with Joe Becerra, F&I director at F&T Valley Motorsports in Pharr, Texas, and Chris Rice, import/region manager based out of Ride Now Powersports Las Vegas. They spoke about how lenders can attract the dealers they want, building a solid network of dealers, and how powersports dealers differ from car dealers.

Motorcycle Industry Council president Tim Buche spoke about industry growth during the Powersports Finance 2015 summit in Las Vegas.
Motorcycle Industry Council president Tim Buche spoke about industry growth during the Powersports Finance 2015 summit in Las Vegas.

The fourth session was titled “Understanding Powersports Finance Risk,” which involved identifying the biggest risk threats’ perfecting the cost-benefit analysis and strategies for seeking out the most effective solutions. Speakers included Donal Hummer, Jr., president and CEO of ThunderRoad Financial; Vijay Patil, chief risk and strategy officer, Yamaha Motor Finance; and Chuck Smith, senior vice president and chief lending officer at TDECU.

The fifth session, “Where Collateral Values Are Headed” featured Jim Woodruff, chief operating officer at National Powersport Auctions; Lenny Sims, vice president of operations at NADA Guides; and Scott Yarbrough, editor of Black Book. They spoke about segment-by-segment valuations and trends, spotting triggers for value declines and metrics for better portfolio management.

The day wrapped up with sessions on “Opportunities in Technology” and “The Ins and Outs of Repo and Remarketing.”

Jim Woodruff of National Powersport Auctions was a presenter at the inaugural Powersports Finance 2015 summit in Las Vegas.
Jim Woodruff of National Powersport Auctions was a presenter at the inaugural Powersports Finance 2015 summit in Las Vegas.

Attendees were lenders looking to get into the powersports space, along with some lenders that already play in the space. In addition, attendees included providers who interact with the financing piece of the business.

Industry takeaways from the event were that it did a great job of shedding light on the powersports industry, letting lenders know that it is not a scary unknown, but rather a lucrative industry in need of additional finance options. In fact, many remarked after talking with the lenders in attendance that those who were unsure about the powersports space left feeling comfortable.

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