FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | NOVEMBER 27, 2018
By Vicky Kinsey, Assistant VP of Marketing – CU Alliance
Keystone Lending Alliance (KLA) is celebrating its 10‐year anniversary in 2018 and in that time, has become the leading indirect lending CUSO for credit unions in Pennsylvania. Located in Wexford, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh, KLA is providing a multitude of indirect related services to over 30 credit unions throughout the state.
In early 2008, as the owner credit unions began to conceptualize the CUSO, they decided to partner with Credit Union Acceptance Company, LLC (CUAC) and CU Alliance to provide technology for their indirect lending platform and their member car buying service. CU Alliance recently caught up with KLA President & CEO, Bob Brant, who has been at the helm since day 1 of this dynamic company.
“I had spent the majority of my career in the indirect lending space with a regional bank and one of the world’s largest banks. The industry was changing and I knew that technology would play a key part in our success.” Brant recalled. “I also knew that with a start‐up company, we needed to focus on the service we gave to our credit union clients and making sure that we were delivering high quality loans.
Partnering with CUAC gave us the ability to focus on dealer relations and growing our program. This partnership has allowed us to expand our footprint across the state and to over 30 credit unions.”
The CUAC product offering combined with industry technology from DealerTrack and RouteOne helped KLA quickly gain traction and become a market leader in indirect lending services. “We have a very diverse group of dealers that require different service levels and enjoy having different methods of doing things. This includes various ways to submit applications, delivery options for funding packets, assistance with compliance etc. Our system allows us to accommodate those needs while being able to underwrite and discount with a great deal of efficiency. Our credit union clients also require ease of use which is especially helpful with larger volume clients. The KLA platform allows all lending activity to be integrated on the credit union side while data and documents are delivered in real time.”
KLA has accomplished a great deal in 10 years but feels that it is just getting started. “We have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the Western PA market since 2009. We recently expanded into the eastern side of the state and look to increase that footprint significantly over the next year or two. We are very excited to tell our story of generating a very large portfolio over the last decade that has an incredibly low delinquency and charge‐off rate. We feel that with the program we have in place and that proven track record, the sky is the limit.”
KLA is looking to take advantage of some additional tools provided by CUAC in 2019 including digital retailing and a robust business analytics tool. “We are very pleased with our success to date but feel we are just getting started. The industry is changing rapidly and there are many market disruptors such as ride‐sharing, subscription‐based ownership and autonomy that will impact the market and potentially change our business model in the future. With the right partnerships in place and a commitment to ensure that KLA stays at the forefront of technology, we are very excited about what the future holds.”
For more information, please contact Vicky Kinsey, Assistant VP or Marketing for CU Alliance