Regions Financial Corp. is using its upcoming Avant deployment as an opportunity to “refresh” its digital offerings.
The bank’s CEO, Grayson Hall, said yesterday during the company’s earnings call that the Avant loan application service will go live next month. The Regions-Avant partnership was announced last April.
“[W]e’re in the process even as we speak refreshing our online and mobile experiences for our customers,” Hall told investors. “We’re launching that as we speak and then Avant will be in August … We think it’s just one more way of trying to provide a better experience for our customers in both the online and mobile channels, but it’ll be incremental to what we’re doing.”
Regions’s last major iOS release was in December 2015.
The Avant deal makes the marketplace lender the bank’s personal loan origination engine. Specifically, Regions customers can apply for an unsecured loan on the bank’s website through the Avant platform, which will carry Regions branding. Applicants will be evaluated on Regions’ underwriting criteria, and loans for approved applicants will be funded and serviced by Regions. Application declines will go to Avant for consideration. Loans sizes range from $1,000 and $35,000, and the platform will offer an immediate credit decision.
This new partnership comes as marketplace lending, in general, has been slowing.
Regions expects its Avant deal to be accretive to earnings “over time.”
Regions has a market capitalization of about $11.3 billion.