Santander Aids in Strengthening Industry Standards

Memo from ARA President, Vaughn Clemmons

To The Repossession Industry and ARA Membership,

ARA has worked vigorously over the past several months to raise awareness with the national lenders in regard to agency concerns. Santander recently sent three of their executives to both standards meetings held by ARA, one in Dallas and, subsequently, in Denver. After listening intently to the topics discussed, Santander wasted no time in implementing changes to reflect their willingness to aid in setting standards within our industry.

On October 1, 2022, Santander launched a 90-day program that will expire on December 31, 2022, This program is a blanket fee approval for all dolly and flatbed fees; additionally, meeting industry standards by setting the blanket fee approval at $150. As mentioned in previous letters, this drastically saves agencies time in waiting for approvals and allows for more attention spent on working assignments which benefits clients and the agents in reducing the overall days to recovery.

In addition to the blanket approval of these fees, Santander has also increased the repossession and voluntary rates across the board for the entire network.

We applaud Santander’s quick response; it is this kind of leadership that sets them apart and demonstrates why they are the largest subprime auto lender in the world. ARA and agencies around the country are thankful to have Santander as a valued partner.

ARA is committed to building a sustainable and profitable business model that benefits every stakeholder in our industry.