GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — The American Financial Services Association recently welcomed among its nationwide membership Universal Special Auto Finance and apparently wasted no time in tapping Universal's chief executive officer John Scordo to serve on its Vehicle Finance Advisory Board.

"AFSA is pleased to welcome Universal Auto Finance as its newest member. We look forward to John Scordo's involvement as a member of the AFSA Vehicle Finance Advisory board, the oversight board for the Vehicle Finance Division," said Chris Stinebert, AFSA's president and CEO.

While a relatively new enterprise, Universal's core executive team has more than 70 years of cumulative and proven success in the indirect lending market, having previously built and managed a $4B portfolio of approximately 250,000 loans, officials indicated.

Universal Special Auto Finance competes in the indirect market, which has seen a number of major lenders vacating the space.

"Universal has created a strong and sustainable business model that not only offers indirect lending through its unique SAF SERIES1, but also offers portfolio management for sale or purchase, floor planning and strategic business consulting," said Scordo.

"Through our ‘Solutions' program we are now operating all across the credit spectrum to include prime, near prime and, of course, subprime. We're delighted to part of AFSA which adds so much value to the market and its stakeholders," he added.

For more information on Universal Special Auto Finance or AFSA, visit www.universalsaf.com and www.afsaonline.org.