ONTARIO, Calif.—CU Direct has approved a 3% cash dividend to its 108 credit union shareholders for a record twelfth consecutive year.
The company said credit unions funded 1.4 million loans through its Lending 360 and CUDL lending platform, generating a record $30 billion in credit union auto loans in 2016. That surpasses the company's record $26 billion in loans funded in 2015. CU Direct credit unions have increased auto loans 55.6% since 2013, the company reported. CU Direct helped its credit union partners increase loan growth 16% in 2016, the highest loan origination growth rate among the top nine lenders in the nation, according to data from AutoCount, and as a result CU Direct credit unions, as an aggregate, became the second-largest auto lender in the nation.
The company also reported that during 2016 it grew with 55 new credit unions, and by year's end 1,048 credit unions, serving 44.5 million members, were utilizing CU Direct’s lending software and solutions, including lending platforms (CUDL, Lending 360), analytics and reporting (Lending Insights), auto-shopping tools (AutoSMART), and retail lending products (OnSpot Financing).
"We are pleased to provide a strong return on investment to our shareholders for the twelfth consecutive year," said Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of CU Direct. "Credit unions continue to demonstrate that they can compete with banks and win in the auto lending marketplace; our goal is to deliver innovative lending technology and solutions that help credit unions improve efficiencies to get to yes faster, and make more loans."