After a period of loosening standards in 2021, prime lenders are tightening their standards again and are likely to stay tight in 2024 and beyond, emphasizing the need for Near Prime/Sub-Prime lenders now more than ever.

On episode 25 of Matt Chatts, Matthew Bratsis and a panel of experts underscored the need for Near Prime and Sub-Prime lenders after reviewing data from an opinion survey of senior loan officers across the US.

"They're not writing down what they used to. We used to see consistently 70% approvals just in the Prime," said Bratsis. "Prime being Greensky, EnerBank, Wells Fargo, Service Finance, kind of the bigger ones, what we're now seeing, without OPTIMUS of course, is we're seeing it go down to 64% or 65%, and really they're only writing 700s."

"We're leaving 35% of the consumers without finance options. Contractors won't be able to close those sales, the consumers aren't going to get the financing that they need for this repair or replacement," said Jen Morris, General Manager of Strategic Engagement for OPTIMUS Financing. "Educating contractors and making sure that they have that Near Prime and Sub-Prime availability to their consumers is going to make a huge difference in their bottom line.

Janeen Waddell, VP of Sales also chimed in on the commercial industry, saying, "I see a lot of similar trends, but I will say I see a lot of improvement in credit. More of our business customers are going to be seeking alternative financing means instead of using their credit cards after rates rose as fast as they did this year."

Watch the full episode of Matt Chatts "OPTIMUS Holiday Special" by clicking here. Or, register today for the next Matt Chatts episode here or sign up to have them delivered directly to your inbox.