HOUSTON -

Auto Financial Group — an online provider of innovative financing products including CarMark Auto Finance for credit unions and banks — announced year-to-date growth figures this week, revealing increasing momentum in new customer signings with AFG’s balloon lending and remarketing programs.

Since August, Auto Financial Group highlighted that it has signed nine new credit unions to their Balloon Lending program, resulting in a reach increase of more than 185,900 new consumers. These new organizations include:

— Align CU
— Anoka Hennepin Credit Union
— Arlington Community Federal Credit Union
— BrightStar CU
— Education First CU
— Hialeah Municipal Employees FCU
— Jamestown Area Community FCU
— MOBILITY CU
— Vermont FCU

The company tabulated that these credit unions represent combined assets of more than $2 billion through institutions located across Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.

“We welcome these financial institutions to the growing AFG family," AFG chief executive officer Richard Epley said. "Residual based financing is at an all-time high in the U.S., and we're excited that these institutions have chosen AFG’s Balloon Lending Program to offer to their members."

In addition, Auto Financial Group has signed four new credit unions as remarketing partners, resulting in a reach increase of more than 579,000 new consumers. These new remarketing partners, representing combined assets of more than $3.9 billion, include:

— Intouch Credit Union
— Municipal Credit Union
— My Community Federal Credit Union
— Smart Financial Credit Union.

Auto Financial Group expects continued growth through the remainder of 2015, leading into a strong 2016 as the company seeks to provide their unique financing products and solutions to financial institutions across the U.S.

The balloon lending program, such as CarMark Auto Finance, can provide institutions with a residual based balloon loan program that is fully insured.

Through AFG's software, financial institutions are able to secure higher-yielding loans with lower monthly payments for their consumers, mitigate residual value risk, and position themselves to take advantage of the record market increases in residual value based financing.