Chrysler Chose Banco Santander as Its Lender for Auto Loans

Chrysler chose Banco Santander as its lender for auto loans, expanding the financing the US automaker can offer its dealers and buyers.

Chrysler Capital, which will be launched on May 1st, under a 10-year deal, will offer financing to dealers, customers with lower credit scores, as well as subprime borrowers. This agreement will give Banco Santander, Spain’s largest bank, the possibility to gain visibility in the US. The company also plans to launch Santander Consumer USA during this year’s second or third quarter.

Chrysler announced that until April 30th, its customers will continue to work with Ally Financial, the automaker’s current preferred auto lender, but that the automaker will continue doing business with Ally and other financial institutions.

Back in November, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that the two possible financing partners for the automaker were Santander Holdings USA and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and that no matter which one th company will choose, it will let the deal with Ally Financial expire in April.

“You need to know that your lender of choice is going to be available and willing to make the loans necessary to move product,” said analyst Alec Gutierrez. “The question will be, is this lender still going to be willing to carry over a lot of the aggressive programs that Ally was running?”