AAA offers 15-second car loans through Internet

The American Automobile Association is using the Internet to deliver the world's fastest car loans - in as little as 15 seconds in some cases. Through a program that went nationwide last October, AAA gives car loans through its web site at http:// www.financial.aaa.com.

Members of Triple A can log onto the site, enter their social security number and other personal information, and apply for a loan. The process takes about 15 minutes. After submitting the request, a response comes back, sometimes within as little as 15 seconds. It the answer is yes, the borrower goes to their nearest AAA office to get their check. Triple A has 106 offices around the country that have the equipment to print such checks. Tripe A told the Associated Press that about 20 percent of loan applicants receive approval in 15 seconds. Other applicants receive a reply of "maybe," and are asked more questions. Some applicants are simply denied.

The interest rate varies according to the borrowers situation. PNC Bank of Pittsburgh provides the loan funds.

Triple A has 41 million members in the United States.

Weiss Publishes

Final Results Of Y2K Survey

Weiss Ratings Inc., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., released its nationwide survey of banks for Y2K readiness. The rating organization declared that 247 of the 1,128 banks that responded to its survey have taken "inadequate" steps to prepare their computer systems for the onset of the new millennium. Of the 247 banks, 195 received a rating of "below average" and 52 received a rating of "low."

These ratings are largely meaningless, but Weiss Ratings is seeking broad publicity for its survey results. Martin D. Weiss, chairman of the company, notes that more than one-third of the banks that responded to the survey said they had not tested and fixed all mission-critical systems by Dec. 31, 1998. Weiss said he believes these results conflict with information released by the FDIC which says all but 2.9 percent of the nation's banks had received "satisfactory" Y2K ratings by the end of 1998.

Weiss also reported that 177 institutions received a "high" rating for Y2K preparedness. About 62 percent of the respondents received the firm's "average" designation. Although Weiss does not refer to the 9,578 financial institutions that did not respond to his survey, he said in a Feb. 10 press release that "we must assume that, on average, institutions that did not respond to our survey are more likely to be late in fixing their Y2K problems than those that did."

The March 8 press release included a list of the 10 largest banks in the survey to receive a "high" rating. Included are the First Citizens National Bank of Mason City, Iowa and the Security National Bank of Sioux City, Iowa. A list of the 10 largest banks receiving a "low" rating includes one bank from Minnesota and one from Illinois. All of the banks on the list for "low" rated banks reported they expect to have testing and remediation for mission critical systems completed by June 1999.

Articles Provide Fodder For Merging Trade Groups

The two articles that appear on the front page of the Star Tribune's March 10 business section provide fodder for bankers who want to see the state's two banking trade groups merged. The prominent articles regurgitate the tired old consumer complaints about high-priced ATM transactions. The reporters talked to lots of whining consumers, but they only talked to the state's three largest banks: U.S. Bank, Norwest and TCF. One of the articles declares "warm and fuzzy banking is all but gone.

It is clear that reporters only see banking as an industry made up of the very largest institutions. Even though there are dozens of community banks serving the Twin Cities, none was acknowledged in the article. Community bank customers know "warm and fuzzy banking" is not gone in the Twin Cities.

It was interesting that neither article included any mention of the Minnesota Bankers Association nor the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota. There were no quotes from the leaders of these organizations.

What these articles made clear to me is that the largest banking companies in the state have no problem getting their opinion across. But the opinion of the community banker is going completely ignored. These are the people who need an effective organization to represent them before the media and lawmakers. (Interesting that the articles appeared while the legislature is considering legislation to ban ATM fees.)

The largest banks clearly don't need an association to get reporters to listen to them, and community banks clearly need an effective organization to get their voice into the public square. So if the state trade group is looking for a purpose and the independent trade group is looking to build a little more clout, it seems a merger might make some sense.

Changes At Riverside Bank Will Be Worth Watching

It will be interesting ta note changes at Riverside Bank under its new ownership. Associated Banc-Corp of Green Bay, Wis., announced it will purchase the $331 million Minneapolis-based bank in the third quarter. David Cleveland will remain the bank's president and CEO.

Although Associated promises to bring the bank - which has five offices in the Twin Cities - more products and services, bank customers have to wonder if the bank will be able to maintain its independent nature. Will the environment change under the new ownership? Will the bank be able to maintain the growth it has experienced in recent years? (Riverside's assets have grown 84 percent since 1995.) Time will tell.

Copyright NFR Communications Inc Mar 13, 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

Bibliography for "AAA offers 15-second car loans through Internet"

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"AAA offers 15-second car loans through Internet". Northwestern Financial Review. Mar 27, 1999. FindArticles.com. 16 Jun. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3799/is_199903/ai_n8840122