Westar Commits to Private Label B2B Auto Lease Solution for AmSouth
8 February 2000
Westar Commits to Private Label B2B Auto Lease Solution for AmSouth
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. and OLYMPIA, Wash.--Feb. 7, 2000--Westar Financial Services Incorporated (OTCBB:WEST) today announced that it will begin offering its model for delivering auto lease financing to dealers and customers of AmSouth Bancorporation . Fueled by Westar's proprietary technology, the service will offer unparalleled service, instantaneous credit approvals and superior pricing to auto dealers for their prime customers."Westar's leading edge decisioning and communications technologies, coupled with its exclusive lease securitization capabilities, provide a unique and complete system to support a growing automotive financing business," stated R. W. Christensen, Jr., Westar's President and CEO. Westar's technologies can be integrated into a financial institution's origination process, allowing its credit officers to generate instant approvals, real time reviews and split second access to Westar's auto finance specialists, when needed. Westar's proprietary securitization capabilities also provide efficient and competitive access to capital for lease transactions, allowing selected banks, credit unions or thrifts to offer highly competitive pricing.
"We are delighted that our combination of technology and service meets our institutional customers' need for quality, efficiency and precision," he added. Westar's system for administering lease and loan transactions for the automotive industry is changing the face of auto financing. Consumers benefit from instant approvals and competitive financing alternatives, while auto dealers benefit from having a range of popular financing alternatives that provide virtually instant credit approval. Westar has invested heavily to design a program to answer the needs of financial institutions. "We are extremely pleased our private label model is being validated so quickly by the marketplace," Christensen concluded. "This represents a logical expansion of our e-finance capabilities to add a unique business-to-business (B2B) channel to our existing leadership position in the business-to-consumer (B2C) arena."
The new program will be introduced in Florida in March, and is scheduled to quickly expand. When fully operational, Westar's Private Label origination channel is expected to generate annual volumes in excess of $400 million.
AmSouth Bancorporation is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham with $43 billion in assets and approximately 660 branch banking offices and 1,365 ATMs. As the 19th largest bank holding company in the nation, AmSouth has leading market positions in Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, and also has branch presence in Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia. AmSouth is a leader among regional banks in the Southeast in several key business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, small business banking, mortgage lending, equipment leasing, annuity and mutual fund sales, and trust asset management.
Westar Financial is the only publicly traded automobile lease finance company focused solely on the prime-credit segment of the $530 billion auto finance market. Westar entered into automotive e-finance through a $1 billion funding commitment to DriveOff.com, a 3rd generation e-commerce business model allowing consumers to buy and finance new automobiles in a single electronic transaction. Through DriveOff.com, Westar completed the first entirely electronic Internet automobile purchase and lease transaction in October 1999. The company operates its Dealer Direct leasing program in the western US, and is rapidly expanding its consumer e-finance and business-to-business capabilities nationally.
Statement regarding "Forward Looking Statements": Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, including expansion of operations, growth of loan originations, ability to place securitizations, success of the e-commerce model, trends in interest rates, various statements concerning expectations for growth or profits and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations.