ADI Conducts Workshop in Malaysia

(From left to right) Benchmark Consulting International Managing Director, Peter Jobst; ADI CFO/Dean of Education, Arzu Algan; The Asian Banker Manager, Programs, Shalini Nair; ADI CEO/Executive Director, Alan Algan; and The Asian Banker Manager, Research, Christian Kapfer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 14, 2006–The Automotive Dealership Institute has successfully completed its two-day workshop in Malaysia to 43 high-level banking delegates from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and the Philippines. The delegates, who included chairmen, CEOs, presidents of banks, leasing companies and captives — including BMW Finance Asia — represent the elite of the Asian automotive banking business.
The workshop, titled “Building a Successful End-to-End Automobile Financing Business: Profiting from the Value Chain of the Auto Financing Business,” was held in conjunction with The Asian Banker, regarded as the most authoritative intelligence provider on emerging best practices and benchmarks to commercial banks to all countries in the Asia Pacific region. The sessions were held Aug. 7-8 in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

ADI Dean of Education Arzu Algan conducted the workshop, which covered such topics as How To Implement Indirect Automotive Loans Through Dealerships by Incorporating the U.S. Model, New Technologies in Auto Lending, and Utilizing Loan Protection Products To Increase Profits. Also on the podium was ADI’s CEO/Director of Operations Alan Algan and under contract with ADI was Peter Jobst, managing director of Benchmark International Europe, based in Munich, Germany. He covered such topics as Securitization of Automotive Receivables and Loan Portfolio Servicing for Continuing Success. Benchmark International is one of ADI’s strategic partners.

“I was very pleased with the caliber of the attendees, and the reception we received,” said Arzu Algan. “There was enormous interest in our presentation, which led to excellent questions on how to advance the automotive lending business in Asia.”

ADI has started direct discussions with several major banks via The Asian Banker to supply and private label such F&I products as extended service contracts, GAP protection, credit insurance and other pro-rata refundable back-end products to individual banks. In addition, ADI’s current textbooks were sold out during the workshop at $500 each, and advanced orders were placed for its landmark Encyclopedia of F&I Management, currently in production and due for release in November.

“We take pride in providing a world-class automotive education, and our experience in Malaysia is a testament to that,” said ADI’s Alan Algan. “Our association with such powerhouse industry leaders as Northwood University, the Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals (AFIP) and the Institute for Ethical Behavior sets us apart from other schools in the United States, and our relationship with The Asian Banker says much about our reputation, which has achieved global prominence.”

In May, ADI reached agreement with The Asian Banker on a wide-ranging marketing partnership that allows the Singapore-based research and intelligence company to represent ADI’s automotive and banking-related courses and other products in development across Asia. Said Emmanuel Daniel, The Asian Banker’s president, at that time, “We chose the Automotive Dealership Institute because we could see that they provide world-class automotive management programs that could help any bank in Asia. As the automobile ownership business is booming in many parts of Asia, we searched for an appropriate partner to bring world-class skills to this marketplace.”

“We evaluated a number of other so called ‘F&I schools’ in the United States and elsewhere, but none possessed the credibility and the hands-on expertise that ADI demonstrated,” he said. “The key elements of their curriculum are immediately transportable to this region, their faculty’s resumes are comprised of people who are experts in their own right, and their alliances with other industry leaders in the United States and abroad immediately plugs us into a very sophisticated network of resources. We are looking forward to continuation of a long, fruitful relationship.”

ADI was invited to return to Asia to conduct a series of workshops in Malaysia and neighboring countries and implement private labeling of back-end F&I products to a number of banks starting immediately.

The Asian Banker is dedicated to providing incisive and up-to-date information and analysis on strategic developments in the financial services industry. The company, founded in 1996, publishes The Asian Banker Journal, the leading commentator on developments in the Asia Pacific region’s financial services industry.

The Automotive Dealership Institute, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a global leader in educating the next generation of Finance and Insurance managers and service advisors. ADI is licensed by the State of Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education and approved by the Arizona Department of Education. For more information call 877-998-7200 or visit www.autodealerinstitute.com.