Wells Fargo exec talks underwriting, crisis management

As the head of Wells Fargo Auto ’s retail underwriting and fulfillment team, Tanya Sanders has her eye on the proverbial speedometer. In addition to overseeing credit underwriters, funders and a number of support functions that relate to the origination process, Sanders’ team also reviews incoming contracts that aren’t automatically approved through the bank’s technology and system automation. “Part of my job is to make sure that we’re always looking at ways to do things faster. And so that’s one of the things that I tend to focus on with my teams and in this role: how do we implement new tools? How do we implement new innovation to help increase the speed in which the underwriters can get through that work and still get a high level of service to our customers,” Sanders told Auto Finance News . [caption id="attachment_79659" align="alignright" width="212"] Tanya Sanders[/caption] But faster doesn’t necessarily mean riskier. Wells Fargo’s credit box is “very much in line” with other lenders across the country, Sanders said, many of which reported tightened underwriting standards in the Federal Reserve ’s Senior Loan Officer survey last month. “I would say we’re still very prudent, but still within our general risk appetite for lending. We are also looking at making sure that we’re doing responsible lending and that we are managing for the stressed macroeconomic environment and uncertainties there,” Sanders explained. And while underwriting standards may have changed in the face of a pandemic, Sanders’ passion for connecting with people has not. “In all the roles that I’ve had, the one thing that’s been constant — and the lesson learned for me — reflects back to my early childhood, which is having a consistent and constant passion for people and connecting with people,” she said. To that end, Sanders sat down with AFN to discuss her goals as head of underwriting, the COVID-19 pandemic, and managing the barrage of this year’s outside stressors. What follows is an edited version of the conversation. Auto Finance News: You’ve been at Wells Fargo Auto for about a year now. What were your goals going into the role last year and how have they shifted since then? Tanya Sanders: When I joined the team in September 2019, the business had already gone through a significant transformation. My focus coming on board was really to optimize the team and the processes looking for ways to really streamline our credit and fulfillment function through technology and innovation. COVID-19 really put a different test on things earlier this year. And so, like many across the industry, it really accelerated our need to move more quickly towards a digital model. And it forced us to make some quick decisions. So I would say the priorities or the goals I had coming into the role, were really focused on streamlining automation and implementing new tools. One thing that hasn’t changed is the focus on risk management. What’s a little bit more nuanced is, with COVID-19, having to make some of those decisions more quickly, and then having to also think about how do we best support the team because we did have to go through a pretty quick decision, or turn, relative to getting team members supported in a work-from-home environment who were traditionally in the office. AFN: Has there been any new or existing technology that you’ve leveraged to help get over the COVID-19 hurdle? TS: We continue to leverage existing technologies where the online application process and the decision process was already in place for so many of us — dealers and funders. One of the things that we’ve picked up adoption on is e-contracting through those platforms. And so we’ve seen an immediate increase in e-contracting adoption, although that technology already existed pre-COVID. A new technology we did implement recently was remote e-sign. And that does allow dealers a lower touch approach to get customers contracted. Many of our dealers were asking for it as a result of some of the impacts to their in-person sales. AFN: Shifting gears here. A lot has happened in the last five months. The protests in May shed light on racial and gender discrimination in all walks of life, but they also forced the industry to take a closer look at access to fair and equitable credit. How has Wells Fargo Auto worked to address these issues? TS: [The protests] really shined a light on things that always have been present but became more apparent in recent months. This is where I’m very proud of Wells Fargo as a company. We’ve been very visible in our commitment to doing what we can to support diverse communities and making sure that not only are we supporting communities externally, but also internally. From an auto perspective, we have stayed connected with organizations like the National Association of Minority Auto Dealers. That’s a relationship that I’ve had personally and that Wells Fargo continues to stay connected with. We have an auto diversity council that’s part of our consumer lending diversity council, so we have members from our team that are a part of that. And then I would say personally, being a black woman — someone who’s kind of had to deal with these issues my entire life and throughout my career —I’ve personally been having ongoing conversations, not only with my team, but with my peers and other leaders in the business, not only to share my personal experience, but also to listen to others and try to create a culture of listening. I try to lead with empathy and a willingness to talk about these topics. Because, while they’re happening externally in our communities, I think we all recognize that our team members have to come to work, and so there’s a lot of that that they bring with them. Using the time that we are together and having these conversations, and helping people understand what action can we take personally — as a company and within our business — helps the team also to process and understand what good can come out of out of a really difficult situation. Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event, returns October 20-22, 2020, as a virtual experience. The virtual experience will offer the quality networking and education of past events, all through an online platform. To learn more about the 2020 event and register, visit www.AutoFinanceSummit.com .

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Wells Fargo exec talks underwriting, crisis management

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