PHILADELPHIA — Provider of automotive collateral management services, electronic lien and title (ELT) services and direct finance processing for automotive lenders, VINtek recently reported double-digit growth, as well as a significant number of new clients for 2011.

This past year’s results continued a three-year span of double-digit revenue and client growth, the company noted, reporting revenue growth of more than 15 percent and almost 500 new clients.

“We are seeing significant growth and resurgence in the auto industry,” noted Larry Highbloom, president of VINtek.

“With the increasing volume, financial institutions need to re-tool and ensure they are meeting the changing needs of consumers such as offering a simple online application process and convenient electronic signature capabilities to enable remote auto loan closings. VINtek continues to engineer advances in its direct auto financing tools to bring financial institutions relevant borrower leads, close the sale with innovative services, as well as outsource the lien and title work. This provides a complete vertical suite of services to automotive lenders,” he continued.

And what were the new clients 2011 brought the company most interested in?

The company noted that a majority of its new clients signed on for ELT services.

“ELT replaces the traditional paper-based lien transaction between lenders and DMVs with an electronic data transmission eliminating the need to issue and mail a paper title,” officials explained.

“As state governments realize the cost savings associated with the improved efficiency, as well as accuracy and fraud reduction gains from this green initiative, state legislators have begun encouraging the use of ELT in their states through voluntary and required programs,” they continued.

And the ELT requirements in each state are changing.

“At the end of 2011, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Arizona and Louisiana were operating on an ELT-only basis for most, if not all lienholders and had eliminated the issuance of paper titles with liens,” the company shared.

Furthermore, Texas and California are apparently in the process of preparing guidelines for lienholder compliance with legislation passed in those states requiring most lienholders to join the states’ ELT program.

“Other states are pursuing legislative initiatives to introduce ELT or require lienholder ELT participation. ELT is gaining significant traction across the country and the currently operable states represent almost 65 percent of vehicle registration volume,” officials added.

And to help its clients with navigating the ELT requirements in each state, VINtek shared it brought on Sarah Hunsicker as manager of state government affairs.

In this position Hunsicker is responsible for overseeing VINtek’s relationships with state governments and motor vehicle departments, which includes the company’s participation in assisting with the drafting of ELT legislation for those states that seek VINtek’s expertise.

Commenting on the position, Highbloom said, “VINtek is often consulted during the drafting of states’ ELT legislation due to our extensive experience with financial institutions and how they leverage ELT. The addition of Sarah streamlines our communication with these government entities and ensures that our clients are up-to-date on each state’s nuances.”

But the ELT segment of the company is not the only area to see growth this past year.

VINtek also noted it saw significant growth in its Silver Plus business process outsource automotive collateral transaction volumes.

“Automotive lenders continue to seek ways to reduce operating cost while maintaining, even increasing, customer satisfaction,” said Highbloom.

"Our BPO process gained new clients, as well as saw significant growth in transaction volumes as lenders sought to bridge the gap between paper and ELT by sending VINtek all their paper titles for storage and management,” he added.

Lastly, the company noted it completed second lien filings on a fleet of more than 70,000 trucks using its VINtekTIME technology and performance proven services in a transaction that involved several of the top five U.S. banks.

And as vehicle purchasing volumes increased, VINtek opened a new office this past year in Troy, Mich., to support continued growth in its direct auto financing platform and Silver Plus automotive collateral management services, the company concluded.