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Chairman and
President's Report

CU Direct entered 2020 with a sense of excitement, optimism and focus. And while it’s an understatement to say 2020 was a demanding year, we’re proud to report that the CU Direct team rose to the challenge and stayed on course to create the ultimate origination experience.

The product strategy we implemented in 2018—to create a new Mortgage Loan Origination System to diversify our long-term revenue streams—evolved into a larger vision to develop game-changing technology for lenders. This vision delivers a fully connected and configurable Enterprise Origination Platform for mortgage loan origination, consumer loan origination, and deposit account origination. For the first time, financial institutions will be able to drive the entire origination process seamlessly for any loan and account type from a single platform.

In 2020, we took a monumental first step toward realizing this vision when we went live with the new Origence Enterprise Origination Platform for Mortgage Lending. This included the implementation of Stanford Federal Credit Union, with eight additional credit unions and lenders slated for 2021. The future of lending is finally here, and CU Direct is leading the way.

March 2020 saw the world change overnight. As we faced a global pandemic, CU Direct—like many tech and software companies—shifted to a predominately remote workforce. And, we did so while maintaining operations and staying focused on our aggressive product development roadmap. Our teams worked resolutely and by year-end had successfully expanded the capabilities of our origination technology and introduced new solutions. From the release of the market’s most powerful yet flexible end-to-end digital mortgage origination technology and the market’s first single origination platform for mortgage and consumer lending, to advancements in document processing automation technology and digital retail capabilities with integrated finance within our auto shopping platform. We remain focused on innovative capabilities and the people to transform the future of lending.

For our dealer partners, our 140+ national dealer support representatives worked diligently to keep credit unions connected to dealer finance offices, providing members with affordable financing in the midst of lockdowns, an economic downturn, and record unemployment. The result was a year of indirect lending success with 15,689 live dealers, 1,138 credit unions on the CUDL network, and 1,921,565 applications funding $43.5 billion loans.

The past year tested CU Direct and our partners in ways neither planned nor imagined. It’s clear the pandemic accelerated digital transformation of lending operations, as well as the automotive shopping and financing experience. What was once theoretical is becoming a necessity. CU Direct is strategically positioned for success in 2021 and beyond. To date, we have invested over $85 million in software product development and continue to release components of our Enterprise Origination Platform designed to deliver a true digital lending and account opening experience.

We continued to invest in our staff with the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Council, as well as Employee Resource Groups to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion across the workplace. These employee-led groups redouble our efforts to increase diversity and inclusion throughout CU Direct, as well as champion impactful community causes and professional development of all team members.

On behalf of the CU Direct Board of Directors, management, and staff, we want to thank our stakeholders and partner credit unions for your support during this uniquely challenging year. We look forward to a bright future and are excited to continue on our journey to create the ultimate origination experience for you and your members.

The Age of
Acceleration

In a year defined by accelerated digital transformation, CU Direct was already well on its way to delivering the ultimate origination experience with a single enterprise origination platform for all loan and account types.

1,138

Total financial institution clients

64+ Million

Credit union members represented

15,689

Total dealer clients

$43,511,104,648

Total funding in 2020

1,921,565

Loans processed through our platform in 2020

16,801,146

Loans processed through our platform (since company start)

$35,616,905,055

Total indirect funding in 2020

$7,894,276,530

Total direct funding in 2020

7,285,663

Applications processed in 2020

$368B+

Total funding 
(since company start)

$338B+

Total indirect funding 
(since company start)

$30B

Total direct funding 
(since company start)

115

Shareholders

551

Employees

Vision

To create the ultimate origination experience.

Mission

Provide integrated origination technology solutions that transform the lending experience to enable credit unions to make more loans and improve their efficiencies.

Sector Solutions

CU Direct offers software and solutions to credit unions, financial institutions, mortgage bankers, automobile dealers, and other businesses marketed under the brands Origence®, CUDL®, and Vero™. 

 

Sectors: credit unions, financial institutions, mortgage bankers 

Origence provides end-to-end technology, solutions, and services for indirect lending, consumer lending, mortgage lending, and account opening.

Enterprise Origination Platform
  • Mortgage Loan Origination
  • Consumer Loan Origination
  • Indirect Loan Origination
  • Account Origination
  • CRM & Marketing
Lending Solutions & Services
  • Vehicle Shop & Finance Platform
  • CUDL Dealer Network & Indirect Lending 
  • Outsourced Processing & Underwriting 
  • Document Processing Automation Services
  • Outsourced Lending Call Center
  • Credit & Data Services
  • Insurance & Automotive Aftermarket

Sectors: automobile dealers 

CUDL—paired with AutoSMART—is an indirect financing and digital retail platform for automotive dealers that provides an integrated gateway to the nation’s largest network of credit unions and in-market shoppers.

CUDL Platform & Solutions
  • Financing Platform & Lender Network 
  • Vehicle Shop & Finance Platform & Advertising

Sectors: automobile dealers, financial institutions  

Vero offers automotive finance solutions built to enhance consumer satisfaction and retention while generating additional revenue or non-interest income.

Vero Products and Solutions Highlights
  • Vehicle Service Contracts
  • Mechanical Repair Coverage (Mechanical Breakdown Insurance) 
  • Pre-Paid Maintenance (PPM) Software & Program 
  • Identity, Fraud & Data Breach Protection and Recovery

Board of
Directors

Chairman • Keith Sultemeier

President & CEO • Kinecta Federal Credit Union

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Vice Chairman • Jim Laffoon

President & CEO • Security Service Federal Credit Union

Secretary & Treasurer • Erin Mendez

President & CEO • Patelco Credit Union

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Donna Bland

President & CEO • Golden 1 Credit Union

Todd Marksberry

President & CEO • Canvas Credit Union

Brett Martinez

President & CEO • Redwood Credit Union

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Bob McKay

President & CEO • Together Credit Union

Nader Moghaddam

President & CEO • Financial Partners Credit Union

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Sterling Nielsen

President & CEO • Mountain America Credit Union

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Benson Porter

President & CEO • BECU

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Kim Sponem

President & CEO • Summit Credit Union

Executive Team

Tony Boutelle

President & CEO 

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Bob Child

Chief Operating Officer

Roger Hull

Chief Product Officer

Phil DuPree

Chief Revenue Officer

Ray Jandga

Chief Technology Officer

Neetu Bhagat

Chief Financial Officer

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Brian Hendricks

Chief Marketing Officer

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Erin Wilson

General Council

Financials

2020 CU Direct financials can be viewed on our financials page.

Shareholders

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D

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L

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Q

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Y