SALT LAKE CITY - Prestige Financial announced today that it will expand its subprime lending programs to dealerships in Alabama, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

With this move, the Salt Lake City-based company will now do business in 21 states, including Texas, Illinois, Georgia and Virginia, as well as several other states primarily in the West, reported F&I and Showroom.

“The banks and investors we work with have continued to acknowledge that our portfolio performance remains among the industry’s best,” observes Scot Seagrave, Prestige’s senior vice president of loan originations. “So we have strong support on the liquidity side, and strong product demand on the dealership side. Now with these new states, we’ll be able to help a lot more dealers sell a lot more cars to people who need them.”

Best known for financing Open 7, Open 13 and double bankruptcy car buyers, Prestige has no minimum credit score or down payment requirements and offers generous advances, extended terms and low fees. Its unique rate reduction program, which automatically drops the APR every three months on loans that perform well, assists dealers in closing loans with rate-sensitive customers.

Prestige was founded in 1994 as an affiliate of the Larry H. Miller Group, which includes the NBA’s Utah Jazz and the country’s 10th-largest dealership network. Today, Prestige does business primarily with franchised dealerships — both within and outside of the Miller Group — but originates through some of the country’s biggest independent dealerships as well. It has a line of credit with Wells Fargo Preferred Capital Inc., recently established a $150 million liquidity facility through JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and remains an active participant in the resurgent asset-backed securitization market, all of which provides the funding basis for its territory growth.

“Through the years, our goal has been to stand with our dealerships as a true partner for shared success,” notes Seagrave. “Our industry has seen some tough times lately, but I believe that Prestige has held true to this commitment. We’re looking forward to bringing this same success to the dealerships of these new states, and to further supporting dealers and their customers in our existing states.”