Diamond Credit Union Captures Incremental Auto Loans Leveraging Loyalty Assurance from Tranzact Information Services

April 11, 2011

Diamond Credit Union leverages Loyalty Assurance to identify and reach members who are actively seeking auto loans...allowing them to capture incremental sales from their membership.

Boca Raton, FL (April 11, 2011). Challenged with identifying cost-effective ways of fueling growth within their auto loan portfolio, Lori Levengood, VP of Lending at Diamond Credit Union was intrigued by the auto recapture possibilities offered by Tranzact Information Services' Loyalty Assurance program. Recently launched as a powerful cross-selling solution for the credit union industry, Loyalty Assurance leverages credit inquiries to identify members who are actively shopping for products within a credit union's portfolio, including auto loans, credit cards, mortgages and installment loans. This innovative program identifies ideal candidates for cross-selling initiatives in near real time.

"The best indicator of a member who is truly in the market for a financial product or service is a credit inquiry on his or her credit report," states Ben Waldshan, President of Tranzact Information Services. "Once a member consents to having their credit pulled, you know that they are definitely in the buying mode. Our Loyalty Assurance program can flag this activity within a credit union's membership in as little as 24 hours, giving them the unique opportunity to ensure their products and services are considered at this critical moment in the buying process."

"We felt that the methodology behind leveraging credit inquiries to identify members who were shopping for an auto loan was sound," Levengood comments, "so we agreed to a test. Within the first four weeks of the program, we were able to capture incremental loans from our membership. Over the past three months, we have generated $277,000 in auto loan origination, and we are just getting started."

A consistent and timely follow-up process has been key to Diamond's initial success with the Loyalty Assurance program. "We reach out to our members as soon as we are alerted that an auto loan inquiry has been posted to their credit report, using a combination of outbound calls, direct mail and e-mail. Understanding that we have a short window of time to capitalize on these auto recapture opportunities, we reach out as quickly as possible to ensure we maximize the number of loans we are able to close," explains Levengood.

"Our initial results have been promising," adds Levengood. "We have been able to contact roughly 35% of the members identified through the program. Of these, we have converted 11% into auto loan sales."

"Loyalty Assurance offers credit unions the added benefit of prescreening members for credit worthiness, a process that can significantly improve conversion rates," states Waldshan. "Leveraging our multi-bureau prescreen credit marketing platform, we can ensure members with credit inquiries also meet a credit union's specific qualification parameters. For example, credit unions can establish both minimum and maximum credit score thresholds as part of their member qualification process...allowing them to zero in on the ideal candidates for their most competitive and/or profitable products."

In addition to generating incremental auto loans, Diamond has been able to cross-sell additional products and services as a result of this member reach initiative, including credit cards and signature loans. "Once we have pulled our member's credit report, we can review their overall financial situation to identify additional products and services that will meet their needs," reports Levengood.

"Loyalty Assurance can identify members who are in the market for a wide variety of financial products and services," explains Waldshan. "Credit inquiries can be segmented by type of product, including auto loan, mortgage, credit card, and installment loan. Credit unions can target any combination of inquiries to meet their marketing objectives."

To demonstrate the value of the Loyalty Assurance program, Tranzact Information Services offers credit unions a complimentary analysis that details historical credit inquiry activity within their membership. Outlining the number and type of inquiries, in addition to the number of members who would meet their qualification parameters, this free evaluation offers credit unions invaluable insight into the cross-selling opportunities that exist within their membership. Interested credit unions can request this free analysis here.

About Tranzact Information Services
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Tranzact Information Services (Tranzact IS) leverages a powerful combination of data, technology and analytics to develop innovative products and solutions that drive customer acquisition, retention and cross-sell initiatives for financial services organizations. Tranzact IS houses prescreen marketing information from all three credit bureaus as well as multi-sourced consumer and public record data. Tranzact IS' capabilities are leveraged by mortgage lenders, credit unions, banks, insurance companies, automotive finance companies and direct marketing agencies. Additional information about Tranzact Information Services can be found at www.tranzactis.com.

About TRANZACT
Based in Fort Lee, New Jersey, TRANZACT is the leader in providing end-to-end technology-driven customer acquisition solutions to the financial services and media and telecommunications sectors. TRANZACT leverages and integrates sophisticated digital, data, and direct marketing solutions to deliver qualified leads, fully provisioned sales, and robust customer management systems to brands seeking to acquire and manage large numbers of customers. Additional information about TRANZACT can be found at www.tranzact.net.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) is a private equity firm that invests buyout and structured capital funds in the media, information, marketing services, and education industries in North America and Europe. VSS provides capital for buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings, and strategic acquisitions to companies and management teams with a goal to build companies both organically and through a focused add-on acquisition program. To date, VSS equity and structured capital funds have invested in more than 60 platform companies which have, in turn, completed more than 250 add-on acquisitions resulting in a portfolio with realized and unrealized enterprise values in excess of $12 billion. Additional information about Veronis Suhler Stevenson can be found at www.vss.com.

About Diamond Credit Union
Diamond Credit Union is a Pennsylvania state-chartered and federally insured credit union serving Berks County and the Tri-County Region by offering low-cost financial services with world class service since 1947. As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, it is owned and operated by its members. With over $358 million in assets and over 39,450 members, Diamond is one of the area's largest member-owned credit unions. Additional information about Diamond Credit Union can be found at www.diamondcu.org.