This is a few years old yet it is still very valid
A. Bad Credit Risk Bonanza Gone
B. Irate investors: AmeriCredit shareholders have filed at least 16 pending
lawsuits alleging securities fraud against AmeriCredit and its executives.
E. Un-Fortune-ate working conditions: One month after Fortune magazine
honored AmeriCredit as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, CEO
Michael Barrington terminated 20% of the employees and closed 60% of the
branch offices.
Origin of AmeriCredit
AmeriCredit began in 1986 as UrCarCo used car lots offering both sales and financing to customers with poor credit. It was the inspiration of Cash America Pawnshop executives Jack Daugherty and Clifton Morris, who financed UrCarCo with four other investors and created the nation first chain of used car lots.
The company's 1989 initial public offering met with great success, but the excitement was short-lived; after quadrupling in size to 20 lots, UrCarCo became mired in huge losses from poor underwriting and bad loans on top of declining car sales.
In 1991 the company began reinventing itself, completely restructuring after receiving $10 million from Rainwater Management.in 1992 UrCarCo changed its name to AmeriCredit, liquidated its used car business, and expanded its indirect lending services to include asset-backed securitization as the primary source of revenue. Today, Clifton Morris remains Chairman of AmeriCredit.
Description of AmeriCredit's Core Business Model AmeriCredit engages in the indirect automobile finance business' buying consumer finance loans from
automobile dealers, then conveying such loans to special purpose trusts which issue bonds that are secured by the loans in the trusts. Cash flow from the loans is retained in restricted accounts until the cash reserves reach a certain amount.
Central Problems Affecting AmeriCredit's Operations
(1)
As seen before in Chairman Clifton Morris past UrCarCo experience, the reincarnated AmeriCredit is faced again with troubles arising from extending credit to excessively risky and unworthy customers. Operations difficulties and liquidity crises result from increased default rates caused by the continued weakness in the economy, lower-than-expected recovery proceeds caused by depressed used car values, and the expectation that current economic conditions will continue for the foreseeable future.
(2)
Based on discussions with AmeriCredit about earnings quality, profitability, liquidity, and long-term forecasts, S&P, Moody's, and Fitch have all downgraded AmeriCredit's senior notes from lower-medium to low speculative (junk) grade.
(3)
Financial Security Assurance, Inc., a company that guarantees payment on AmeriCredit's asset-backed securitization transactions, recently suggested it probably will not continue a business partnership with AmeriCredit due to AmeriCredit's falling creditworthiness.
AmeriCredit's Proposed Short-Term Solution
On February 12, AmeriCredit announced a new, revised operating plan in an effort to preserve and strengthen its capital and liquidity positions. The plan includes a decrease in loan origination volume and a reduction of operating expenses through downsizing its workforce and consolidating its branch office network by closing a majority of the branch locations. Assuming continued access to the securitization markets, AmeriCredit believes that it has sufficient liquidity to operate under its new plan through the 2003 calendar year.
Conclusion: A Critical Problem of Order
The operations catch-2 mentioned on previous page: Without increasing revenue and cash streams, the debt rating agencies will not raise AmeriCredits credit grade, but without a better credit rating,
Financial Security Assurance, Inc., will not guarantee AmeriCredit's asset-backed securities, and without Financial Security Assurance, Inc.'s promising to insure AmeriCredit's asset-backed securities, there will be no overwhelming revenue and cash streams. Therefore, AmeriCredit's core cash - generating operations seem to be paralyzed for a while
What a suprise? They have a spotty history just like many of their customers whom they decide to treat unfairly. Unfortunately i am chained to this company because i left a dealership thinking they'd get me financed through a reputable and trustowrthy company, well they didn't.
Y
La Jolla, California
U.S.A.
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