Each year since 2005, the Auto Finance News senior editorial team recognize achievements by companies and/or executives in the automotive finance industry during the Auto Finance Summit. Nominations for the annual Auto Finance Excellence Awards are solicited from our readers, and a panel of judges selects the winners. Companies and executives are permitted to nominate themselves and service providers may nominate their finance company clients.

Executives and/or companies may be nominated for excellence and innovation in the prior 12-month period in operations, community service, leadership, human resources, customer service, competitive performance or technology.

Past award winners include:

Auto Finance Excellence Awards 2025 honor leadership, innovation, performance

From inking new relationships to establishing large funding deals, auto lenders in 2025 proved resilient.

The 21st annual awards recognized operational prowess, deal establishment and leadership.

Awards included:

Leadership: Two auto finance industry pioneers were honored with leadership awards for their contributions. Elen Callahan, head of research and education at the Structured Finance Association, was recognized for her decades of service to the financial community alongside her mentorship and advocacy efforts. Mike Buckingham, managing director of auto finance at JD Power, was also highlighted in recognition of his leadership and commitment to improving performance and accountability in auto finance.

Operational excellence: Wells Fargo Auto was recognized for its preferred financier arrangement with Volkswagen Financial Services, which contributed to a rise in originations volume for the financier.

Deal execution: Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union closed its first-ever asset-backed securitization (ABS) deal, which was backed by prime loans from three credit unions in a unique, combined transaction. American Honda Finance Corp. was also recognized for completing two of the largest auto ABS deals in recent history.

Spotlight on innovation: 2024 Auto Finance Excellence Awards honor strategic leadership

Auto lenders maintained steady operations through strong leadership and a commitment to innovation despite the tight lending environment, elevated interest rates and a higher cost of car ownership that have marked 2024.

The 20th annual awards recognized contributions to leadership, technology, operations and strategy during a challenging year.

Awards included:

Leadership: Betty Jotanovic, president of Chrysler Capital and auto relationships at Santander Consumer USA, for her work in transforming operations at the financier. Under her leaderships, SCUSA secured several private– label deals and modernized dealer onboarding, digital contracting and remote signature processes, streamlining workflows and boosting efficiency.

Technology: Capital One in recognition of the bank’s investment of about $750 million into its Navigator Platform, including its latest development, Muse, a card-based lead generator for dealership sales teams. n Q3, Capital One’s auto originations were $9.2 billion, up 22.9% year over year.

Operations: Stellantis Financial Services, to recognize the captive’s growth and build out following its formation in 2022 following Stellantis‘ acquisition of First Investors Financial Services in 2021. SFS’ portfolio soared 243.1% YoY in 2023 to $7 billion, according to Big Wheels Rankings data.

Strategy: S&P Global Ratings, for establishing itself as a leading credit rating agency for automotive asset–backed securitizations and in recognition of the valuable role the agency plays in setting standards and encouraging better performance and results across the industry.

2023 Auto Finance Excellence Awards: Recognizing leadership, growth, community service

Auto lenders faced a challenging lending environment in 2023 marked by elevated interest rates, high prices on vehicles and inflationary pressures. Still, financiers found ways to meet customers’ needs, keep operations steady and innovate.  

The 19th annual awards recognized operational growth, community service efforts and strong leadership in the face of adversity.  

Awards included:

Leadership: Virnitia Dixon, for her work in building and executing Santander US Holdings’ diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. The company named Dixon as chief diversity officer in February 2021 and chief diversity and culture officer in June 2023 after serving as the inaugural chief diversity officer at Santander Consumer USA, the bank’s auto lending arm.  

Operations: Hyundai Capital America, in recognition of the captive’s growth in loan volume despite challenging market conditions that prompted banks to pull back on auto lending. Loan production was supported by strong Hyundai Motor sales during the year.  

Community service: AI-based auto finance platform Lendbuzz, to recognize its ability to reach borrowers who don’t have a traditional credit score, supported by an underwriting strategy built upon alternative data.

2022 Auto Finance Excellence Awards: Honoring resiliency in a challenging market

Auto lenders, retailers and executives have pushed their businesses forward throughout 2022 in the face of a market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, decreasing consumer demand and rising interest rates. They also found ways to serve their communities and launch new and innovative financing programs.

The 18th annual awards recognize charitable and community efforts, innovation and product development, and noteworthy deals or joint ventures within the auto finance industry. The awards also recognize auto finance executives who during their career have pushed the envelope not only at their own organization, but throughout the entire industry.

Awards included:

Community Service: Tricolor Auto Acceptance, for its work in providing affordable loans to thin- and no-file Hispanic communities in five states along the U.S. and Mexico border across 55 retail hubs.

Strategy: Vroom, for the completed acquisition of United Auto Credit Corp. and the subsequent integration of UACC’s technology stacks and proprietary loan origination system onto Vroom’s platform.

Leadership: Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive financial solutions at Experian, for her years of forethought and dedication in using data for analysis in the auto finance industry. Zabritski has become one of the industry’s leading voices on credit performance, loan terms, credit tier market share and EV financing, and began to leverage data when such a strategy was at its infancy.

Leadership: Ian Anderson, group president of Westlake Financial, in recognition of the lender’s evolution and standing as a tech leader in the auto finance space. Anderson since 2005 has spearheaded day-to-day operations at Westlake, helping to expand its credit box to the full spectrum while realizing his vision to revolutionize the auto finance industry through technology.

2021: An exceptional year in auto finance

Auto lenders and executives set the bar for excellence high during 2021 by supporting their communities and team members while the COVID-19 pandemic continued to shape the dynamic of the industry.

Auto finance executives were challenged to lead their teams from home and adapt to inventory woes, all while continuing to support the communities where they live and work.

Awards included:

Community Service: Toyota Financial Services, for its efforts to continue to promote employee volunteer work amid the pandemic — both online and in-person — through its Toyota for Good volunteer app.

Operations: NextGear Capital, for its commitment to its dealer partners through new program launches and ongoing dealer relief offerings spurred by the pandemic and designed to optimize cash flow.

Operations: Bank of America, for EV growth in its auto portfolio, along with the company’s continued efforts to improve accessibility to EVs and encourage consumers to reduce their carbon footprint.

Leadership: Dan Berce, president and chief executive of GM Financial, for 30-years of service to the auto finance industry, his leadership abilities, attention to employee success, commitment to financial education and philanthropic efforts. Over the last decade, Berce has been instrumental in growing the company from $10 billion to $100 billion in assets, expanding its global outreach and reaching the coverage of approximately 90% of GM’s worldwide sales.

Leadership: Sandra Broderick, former senior vice president and head of operations at Santander Consumer USA, in recognition of a career defined by senior executive roles, employee support initiatives and board leadership positions. Since starting in auto finance after college, Broderick has worked her way to the top, paving the way for women to advance into positions of power within the industry and have a seat at the executive table.

Excellence in auto finance: Achievements amid a pandemic (2020)

Auto lenders have proved their resiliency after facing unprecedented challenges. Despite a dip in new- and used-vehicle sales and continued inventory woes, the industry rebounded far more quickly than executives first expected when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. in April.

The Auto Finance News team highlighted above-and-beyond efforts with the 16th annual Auto Finance Excellence Awards, presented as part of the virtual 2020 Auto Finance Summit.

Awards included:

Community Service: Bank of America, for its specialty finance program targeting wheel-chair accessible vehicles.

Technology: Vroom, for enhancing its technology stack to address security and improvement needs and integrate financing into its digital car sales workflow. The company added more than 40 technology elements to its digital platform since the start of the pandemic.

Operations: Westlake Financial, for launching new programs and expanding on partnerships during the pandemic. Westlake improved multiple operations while also moving 2,300 employees to remote working during the pandemic.

2019 Excellence Award Winners

Awards included:

Community Service: Toyota Financial Services, for leveraging its auto finance and remarking expertise to raise awareness and donations that support HIV/AIDS efforts through AIDS/LifeCycle — a 545-mile, 7-day charity bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Technology: Tricolor Auto Acceptance, for its extensive use of proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning models, mobile-first auto buying experiences, and WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger integration to fulfill its commitment to credit-invisible Hispanic borrowers.

Operations: Carvana, for bringing a fresh approach to the industry with its unique business model and customer experience, which include vehicle vending machines, seven-day vehicle return policy and home delivery.

Leadership: Auto Finance Coalition, a subchapter of the Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, for its work fighting fraud since 2011. The AFC consists of 165 members from the auto finance industry and law enforcement, and estimates that it has prevented tens of millions of fraud losses for the auto finance industry, including initiation of two large-scale criminal investigations that resulted in $7 million of losses.

Leadership: John Hyatt, president of dealer services at U.S. Bank, in recognition of a career marked by strong portfolio growth since taking the reins of the Minneapolis-based auto lender in 2015 and philanthropic efforts with organizations such as United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the Sulzbacher Center for the Homelessness.

Nominations for the 2023 Auto Finance Excellence Awards are now open! Companies and executives are invited to nominate themselves and service providers may nominate their finance company clients. Click here for the nomination form.

HCA, BMW Financial, Bank of America win excellence awards at summit (2018)

Three companies took home honors for their achievements in the industry during the 2018 annual awards.

Hyundai Capital America was presented an Excellence Award for its dramatic transformation of the company’s capital structure and liquidity profile. BMW Financial Services and Bank of America were both honored for strides in innovation. BMWFS was honored for its efforts assisting startups in developing ideas, while Bank of America was recognized for its launch of its direct-to-consumer mobile car shopping service alongside DealerTrack.

5 excellence awards presented at 2017 Summit

Four companies and one industry executive were recognized for achievement in the auto finance sector at the 2017 Auto Finance Summit.

Leadership: Amy Martin, senior director of S&P Global, was honored for her nearly 25 years of service to the industry.

Performance: Security Service Federal Credit Union and Ford Motor Credit Co. were presented Excellence Awards for their No. 1 ranks — for prime and nonprime/subprime, respectively — in the Auto Finance Performance, a lender performance data query. General Motors Financial Co. was awarded for community service efforts for its transportation collaboration with the Ronald McDonald House. Chase Auto Finance took home the award for innovation for its direct digital lending application.

Five Companies Recognized for Achievements in Auto Finance (2016)

Five companies — Consumer Portfolio Services, Hyundai Capital America, Hyundai Motor Finance, Security Service Federal Credit Union and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services – were given Auto Finance Excellence Awards at the 2016 Auto Finance Summit.

Charles Bradley, chief executive of Consumer Portfolio Services, was recognized for his leadership over more than 25 years.

HCA was recognized for its community service through its Financial Futures volunteer program — a partnership with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling-member agencies in Orange County, Dallas, and Atlanta. HCA’s Hyundai Motor Finance took the award for top nonprime lender, while Security Service FCU won top prime lender, according to the results of the Auto Finance Performance (AFP) survey.

Mercedes Benz Financial Services was recognized for its innovation initiative, which includes creating its Digital Transformation Office (DTO) in October 2015.

Toyota Financial Services takes home two excellence awards (2014)

Toyota Financial Services was a two-time winner at the 2014 Auto Finance Summit. The captive took the Auto Finance Excellence Award for Overall Performance after receiving a score of 8.33 out of 10 in four categories: service, reps, pricing and product selection in the Auto Finance Performance initiative study.

TFS also won an Auto Finance Excellence Award for completing its three-phased collections strategy optimization, which the company began in 2008.

Other awards included:

Leadership: Michael Benoit, a partner at law firm Hudson Cook, for his advocacy for the industry, as well as for his Auto Finance News Compliance Insider column, which has called out regulators for hypocrisy and duplicitous stances.

Performance: Best performance awards went to BBVA Compass Bank Dealer as the top prime auto lender in the nation and One Lending & Finance as the top subprime auto finance performer.

Innovation: Ally Financial took home the innovation award in social media for its unique content and expert insight shared on its social media pages.

Community Service: Merchants Fleet Management for its Gail Singer Memorial Blood Drive, started in 1984 and now “America’s Largest One-Day Community Blood Drive.”

SNAAC, Ally, Exeter and Toyota Financial’s Borst Win 2011 Excellence Awards (2011)

Three companies and one senior executive were awarded 2011 Auto Finance Excellence Awards. Security National Automotive Acceptance Corp., Ally Financial, Exeter Finance Corp. and Toyota Financial Services Chief Executive George Borst were presented with the awards.

The recipients won, in order by company, for: charity contributions, performance, Blackstone’s acquisition of Exeter, and leadership amid economic crises.

Ally, Santander, USAA, Wells Fargo and GM Financial Win 2010 Excellence Awards (2010)

Five companies were awarded 2010 Auto Finance Excellence Awards: Ally Financial, Santander Consumer USA, USAA Federal Savings Bank, Wells Fargo Dealer Services and GM Financial.

Ally Financial was recognized for bouncing back from the credit crisis to originate nearly $10.7 billion of auto loans and leases in the second quarter of 2010. Santander Consumer USA received an Excellence Award for consummating transformative deals in the last year that have propelled the company to the top ranks of the auto finance industry. USAA Federal Savings Bank was awarded for its Auto Circle iPhone App.

Wells Fargo Dealer Services was recognized for creating the EcoMind warranty product that plants 25 trees in Little River State Forest in Alabama for every customer that buys the product. The creation of General Motors Financial Co. was the result of perhaps the most transformative acquisition in auto finance in at least 10 years with the acquisition of AmeriCredit Corp. on July 22.

Risk Management Efforts Headline Auto Excellence Awards (2008)

Four companies won 2008 Auto Finance Excellence Awards for resilience during a time of slowed vehicle sales, weakened credit performance and hard to come by funding.

Bank of America won for inking a deal with Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. to create a captive, called Fleetwood Financial Services, to offer retail and wholesale financing, as well as banking products, to Fleetwood’s 1,000 dealers nationwide.

M&T Bank started a comprehensive review of its risk-management efforts. The Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank increased use of scenario analysis and risk and control self assessments, a technique that involves bringing the staff of an entire unit together to identify and devise action plans for risk and control issues.

Toyota Financial Services as of April approved nearly 23,000 Scion loans in Whyville, an educational website for kids, as the captive tested new technology. TFS also won a second award for maintaining service levels while at the same time helping staff affected by the deluge during a flooding crisis in Iowa.

World Omni Financial Corp. won in recognition of its  foresight when it bolstered its companywide framework of operational risk management.