Creditland Adds Three Additional Premiere Auto Lending Partners
15 December 1999
Creditland Adds Three Additional Premiere Auto Lending Partners New Name Brand Partners Span the Credit Spectrum, Providing Great Credit
Products for Almost Every Consumer Need
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15 -- Creditland(R)
(http://www.creditland.com/) -- the Internet's only unbiased credit
marketplace to offer a fast, easy comparison-shopping experience -- today
announced agreements with three premiere automobile lenders: First Union
National Bank, Household International and PeopleFirst.com. Through these
partnerships Creditland offers consumers access to auto loans tailored to
their personal needs and credit history. And, because these lenders span the
credit spectrum, from sub-prime to super-prime, credit-worthy consumers can
find the perfect person-to-person or dealer loan; auto refinancing; or lease
buyout option. Now more than ever, consumers can feel confident that they are
maximizing their buying power -- whether they are driving a new car off the
lot, purchasing a used car from a private seller or refinancing a car they
already own.
"Creditland's alliances with trusted name brand partners, like First
Union, Household and PeopleFirst enable us to provide the best customer
experience for all types of auto lending on the Web. These partnerships
solidify Creditland's commitment to fulfilling the needs of a wide array of
credit-worthy consumers, no matter where they live or what their credit
history," said Tony Wilbert, founder and CEO of Creditland. "We will continue
to partner with the most respected providers of home and auto loans, credit
cards and personal credit in order to achieve our mission of becoming the
Internet's premiere credit destination."
Creditland is a free service that matches consumers to the best selection
of auto loans, home loans, personal loans and credit cards from leading
lenders -- in a matter of seconds. And, thanks to Creditland's patent-pending
decisioning technology and pre-qualifying process, consumers don't waste their
time applying for loans for which they won't qualify. Creditland is fast and
easy, providing the information necessary to make an educated decision when
shopping for a loan, ensuring that consumers find and apply for the perfect
product for them.
The same pre-qualifying process that helps consumers also benefits lenders
who no longer have to sift through applications that may or may not qualify.
This means Creditland's partners enjoy terrific approval ratios that beat
other Internet distribution strategies available. And because the process is
so immediate -- approval in minutes in many cases -- both lenders and
consumers win.
"We are pleased with our partnership with Creditland," said
Gary J. Miller, CEO and Co-founder of PeopleFirst.com. "Both of our companies
place a premium on providing a seamless lending experience for our customers.
Creditland was able to quickly integrate their technology into our own
advanced lending process without compromise to our automation or customer
service."
In addition to delivering qualified customers at a predictable cost,
Creditland provides its lending partners with a fast, simple way to expand
their Internet channel by leveraging Creditland's underwriting technology.
"Creditland provides an additional channel for us to serve our customers
directly in the time-sensitive environment of today's Internet marketplace,"
explained Mary Sikes, VP of Household Automotive's Direct Lending Business
Unit.
Creditland is able to provide the best lending experience online thanks to
its patent-pending underwriting and decisioning technology. This technology
provides consumers with ongoing proactive credit advice and customized
recommendations in addition to convenience and privacy, while lenders enjoy a
simple, fast way to acquire Internet customers.
About Creditland
Creditland is the Internet's only unbiased credit marketplace to offer
consumers a fast, easy and private way to comparison-shop for auto loans, home
loans, personal loans and credit cards from the industry's leading lenders.
The Company, which was founded by CEO Tony Wilbert in February 1998 and is
headquartered in San Francisco, maximizes consumers' time and buying power by
providing choice among lenders and products based on consumers' individual
needs. Thanks to its patent-pending decisioning engine -- which delivers
convenience, privacy, cross-advising and instant personalized matches
-- Creditland is able to provide the best lending experience available online.
About First Union Corp.
First Union Corp. is a leading provider of financial services to more than
16 million customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. At
September 30, 1999, First Union had assets of $235 billion. The company
operates full-service banking offices in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C. and brokerage offices in
41 states.
About Household International
Household International, through its subsidiaries, is a leading provider
of consumer finance, credit card, non-prime auto finance and credit insurance
products in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. In the United
States, Household operates under the two oldest and most widely recognized
names in consumer finance -- HFC and Beneficial. Household is also one of the
nation's largest issuers of private-label and general purpose credit cards,
including the GM Card and the AFL-CIO's Union Privilege card. For more
information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.household.com.
About PeopleFirst.com
PeopleFirst.com, a privately held company located in San Diego,
California, is one of the largest online auto lenders, originating and
servicing its consumer auto loans entirely over the Internet. Founded in
1995, the company spent over 18 months building a customized Internet lending
delivery system for its "reengineered" auto loan products. The company was
named one of the five "Best of the Web" financial innovators in 1998 by Online
Banking Report citing PeopleFirst.com as the "pioneer of blank check auto
lending."
The company's blank check products can be used for either the purchase of
a new or used vehicle at virtually any dealership in the country, as well as
lease buyouts and refinancing of existing loans. In addition, through a recent
exclusive agreement with Mail Boxes Etc., the company is the first and only
Internet company offering loans for the purchase of vehicles from individuals.
PeopleFirst.com has partnerships with, among others, CarPoint, CreditLand,
Edmunds.com, Insweb, Kelley Blue Book, NADA, Telebank, and Yahoo. The company
presently offers auto loans in 43 states plus the District of Columbia with
plans to quickly expand to all 50 states.
