LOS ANGELES — Westlake Financial Services announced it has expanded into three additional states, including North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.

With these three new states, Westlake said it will now originate auto loan contracts in 34 states throughout the United States. 

Contracts in these additional states will be accepted beginning Aug. 1.

"This expansion furthers our goal of increasing Westlake's national footprint," explained Mark Vazquez, vice president of sales. "It was a goal first stated when we entered Wyoming and Tennessee back in January, and this is another step toward that goal."

Vazquez went on to say that the new states will be "a perfect opportunity to showcase our improved Platinum and Preferred programs, in addition to our flagship Standard program, still considered to be among the deepest in the industry."

Richard Damschen, marketing analytics and business strategy manager, added that dealer enthusiasm for Westlake is strong in these markets. 

"We already have dealers calling us to establish business relationships," he said. "We look forward to providing North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana with Westlake's industry-leading service."

Westlake also announced the regionalization of its origination departments. 

Ian Anderson, senior vice president of production and business strategy, explained, "We wanted to bring the personal aspect back to the dealer experience. Even though we have local reps in the field, dealers still contact our offices directly for certain issues, and we want that experience to be just as personal as their interaction with their local reps."

Westlake's origination departments consist of marketing operations, sales and acquisitions. Each of these departments has been split into six teams, each servicing Westlake's six U.S. regions (Pacific Northwest, West, Central, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast).

"When dealers call our office, they will be speaking to a much smaller group of people on a consistent basis," Vazquez pointed out. "Dealers will get to know their Westlake team much better and it will feel much more like calling a local branch, rather than calling into a large corporate headquarters.

"It all goes back to another Westlake goal of providing dealers the best of both worlds," Anderson said. "They get the personalized service of a smaller company, with the financial strength and stability of a large one."

North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana will be part of Westlake's Central region. New Jersey next up as is a future expansion state.

To learn more about Westlake, visit www.westlakefinancial.com.