PeopleFirst Finance LLC, the company that broke ground last fall with the first all Internet originated transaction, is set to re-tap the asset-backed market full-force with a $200 million auto-backed deal.
"Securitization is a part of our forward financing strategy," said Randy Ellsperman, chief financial officer at the company. "When our company reaches scale, I think that it will be our goal to come to market once per quarter."
The company's first securitization last November was a $118 million transaction, managed by Prudential Securities Inc.
Ellspermann said that the company may be exploring new asset classes going forward.
"We are primarily today a prime auto lender, but we see opportunity in other asset classes," he said. "Our plan in the future is to expand into new asset classes...although we are focused on auto loans."
What makes PeopleFirst unique, Ellspermann feels, is that all of its assets are generated over the Internet, although there are other online companies that originate loans over the Internet, such as Carfinance.com and a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG.
"We're a full service provider so we service our loans as well as originate them," he said. "I think that we're most likely the ones to access the securitization markets of the three [companies] who are doing this now."
