Auriemma Introduces Benchmarking Group for Unsecured Lending Product Owners

(New York, NY):  Auriemma Roundtables is announcing a new business intelligence and benchmarking group for executives who manage unsecured loans – a resurgent credit product facing fresh competition, digital disruption, and regulatory scrutiny.

The market for unsecured credit has increased dramatically following the recession, in part because personal loans offset a decline in home equity lending. A slew of banks have come to market with unsecured credit products since, seeking to capture burgeoning demand and fill the gap left by equity loans on their balance sheets. As personal lending has made a comeback, banks have been joined by a new crop of fintech and marketplace lenders looking to lure consumers with user-friendly websites, transparent rates and terms, and fast approvals.

“It’s a ripe market and there’s a real consumer need,” said Jeff Tennenbaum, Auriemma Roundtables’ Director of Global Business Development. “Unsecured products are filling that need through an array of acquisition channels.”

Despite diverging business models, legacy players and emerging fintechs face common challenges, including how to drive growth, manage profitability, and innovate in a newly resurgent market and uncertain risk environment. One of the key challenges is understanding baseline performance and borrower behavior. As most programs have launched in the post-recession era, they haven’t been tested by an economic downturn.

Meanwhile, providers are under constant pressure to make fast decisions, increase approval rates, and remove friction from the customer experience – all while lending responsibly and remaining compliant. Key program activities, including advertising, marketing, and lead generation, are facing increased scrutiny from regulators and consumer advocacy groups.

Open to product executives from consumer banks and alternative lenders, the Unsecured Lending Management Roundtable will help providers navigate these and other portfolio and risk management topics. In-person, peer-to-peer discussions cover challenges across all stages of the product lifecycle, including:

• Avoiding common pitfalls during product launch
• Limiting exposure to unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) in customer-facing material
• Optimizing a wide array of marketing and distribution channels, including direct mail, web, and mobile
• Removing friction points along the customer journey, from application through collections
• Preparing for an economic downturn and mitigating portfolio and fraud risk

A quarterly benchmark study will provide participants with a product-level performance dashboard, with metrics spanning marketing and acquisitions, credit underwriting, portfolio performance, and loss mitigation.

“Our roundtables are an industry-proven platform for participants with diverse business models to engage on issues of common concern,” Tennenbaum said. “This group’s universal set of concerns about the uncertain business environment, regulation, fraud, and collections, to name a few, enables both established consumer banks and newer market entrants to come together productively.”