FORT WORTH, Texas — In a special interview with Chase Custom Finance executive Bill Jensen, SubPrime Auto Finance News learned that his company actually grew market share during the downturn while other lenders were pulling back.

"Throughout the financial crisis, Chase maintained solid working relationships with the majority of our independent and franchised dealer clients. Due to the strength of our balance sheet, Chase's market share actually rose during the recession because we continued to lend in all segments while others cut back or discontinued programs," Jensen explained this week.

"Our focus has always been the on the long-term viability of our program, rather than short-term gain. During the crisis, we made minor changes to our program and worked with dealers to explain the changes we were making and why. We had to discontinue only a small fraction of dealer relationships because their financial situation drastically changed," he continued.

And now that the economy is looking a bit better, Chase is ramping up its business even more. And this includes adding new relationships with independent dealers.

Chase Custom Finance specializes in offering near-prime and subprime financing to franchised dealers, which usually includes applications that were not approved in prime.

"Chase Custom Finance has continued to grow and provide consistent service to both franchise and independent dealers across the country each year. We will continue to provide near-prime and subprime support to all dealers currently signed with Chase Prime and also our Manufacturer Services Clients. We are also expanding our relationships with the independent dealer community," Jensen said.

"In addition, we are opening new offices in markets where we believe we can provide improved service to dealers and grow in the market by being more local. Chase currently has 44 Custom Offices across the country and will be opening our 45th office next month in Jacksonville, Fla.," he added.

Also helping Chase keep charge-offs lower are the very strong values used vehicles have been bringing at auctions. This is where a financial institution sends a vehicle to ensure fair market value after it is repossessed. Any balance left after the vehicle is sold at auction is generally still owed by the customer. Or the company can elect to charge it off.

"Delinquency rates are lower because consumers are in better shape financially and unemployment has stabilized in most markets. Lower losses are also a direct result of higher than normal used-car prices," Jensen pointed out.

Further discussing auction trends, he said, "Higher used-car prices at auction continue to be a strong driver of lower losses per vehicle at repossession. These prices will eventually begin to normalize, but it is still unclear in the industry when that will be. We have excellent relationships with our auction partners and continue to work with them both online and in the lanes."

As for leasing trends, the company only offers this option through its private label relationships.

"We support Subaru, Mazda and Jaguar Land Rover with full lease capabilities. We do not currently offer leasing to non-manufacturer client brands," Jensen noted.

Finally, talking about the market as a whole, Jensen stressed that the near-prime and subprime approval process requires an extra level of credit underwriting and documentation analysis, as well as local market knowledge.

"That is why we have more than 44 Chase Custom centers in local markets throughout the country," Jensen highlighted.

"As the economy moves into a recovery cycle, more lenders are returning to the subprime market and the captives are returning to a full-spectrum approach to credit. This is good news as the auto industry returns to a more stable and growing sales level. Chase Auto Finance provided consistent lending throughout the recession in all segments, and we are now focused on helping our dealer clients grow and prosper as the industry recovers.

The company is expanding its capabilities and relationships in all areas of the business, including retail and commercial.

Independent and franchised dealers looking to establish a relationship with Chase can visit www.chasedealer.com, or call (800) 485-8455 and a local market dealer relationship manager will get in touch to answer any questions.