Heartland Gets GE Floorplan Allotment Hike

jbeletti

Well-known member
A good sign of a changing credit climate - for the better :)


Heartland Gets GE Floorplan Allotment Hike

April 6, 2009 - RV Business




Heartland Recreational Vehicle LLC recently obtained a 150% increase in its floorplan allotment from GE Capital, the Elkhart, Ind.-based towable manufacturers told dealers in an e-mail last week.

”That is a very significant increase,” said Brian Brady, Heartland president and CEO, who declined to release financial details. ”With the exit of KeyBank and Textron it was important to have.”


Brady said Heartland’s increased lending limit will have a substantial impact when recovery occurs. ”This market is going to turn around,” Brady said. ”Credit is going to loosen up. When it does, that’s when this increase will have a profound impact on our business.”


In another positive note, Heartland also recently entered a floorplan agreement with Bank of the West, Brady reported.


The GE Capital increase followed a routine credit review and will allow more Heartland travel trailers and fifth-wheels to be sold wholesale to credit-worthy dealers, according to Brady.


Brady’s e-mail to Heartland dealers also disclosed that the privately owned company’s revenue increased 20% in 2008 compared to 2007 and that the Elkhart, Ind.-based towable manufacturer was within 2% of its revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2009.


”It’s very difficult out there, but our guys did a very good job managing the business,” Brady told RVBusiness. ”Our first quarter is going to be very, very solid.”


Brady said that floorplan lenders are being particularly attentive right now to an OEM’s ability to buy back units under terms of existing agreements with dealers and lenders. ”The big concern for the national floorplan providers is the capacity to honor repurchase obligations,” Brady said. ”The second issue is the credit-worthiness of the dealer. But we can’t really control that.”


Generally, manufacturers and dealers have cited tight credit at the wholesale and retail levels as a key reason why RV sales plummeted last year. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) has made freeing up credit at both levels a top priority.
 

santafedave

Santafedave
Good News on the Credit front

I got my loan for my 3795 thru Bank of the West, great terms and they are very internet friendly. Keep up the good work! D.
 
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