Justine PETERSEN and NISA Charitable Fund are partnering to address the impact of high-interest car loans for drivers in Greater St. Louis with challenging personal credit scores. As one of the nation's leading credit building organizations and community development financial institutions ("CDFIs"), Justine PETERSEN launched a pilot, auto loan refinancing program called DRIVE with wrap-around financial credit counseling with the collaborative support and a $250,000 investment from NISA Charitable Fund.
"Research shows that those with subprime credit in St. Louis are paying an annual interest rate of approximately 20% for their auto loan, which consumes a disproportionate share of their monthly income," said Robert Boyle, Founder and CEO of Justine PETERSEN. "Low- to moderate-income households can stretch their dollars if they work with a CDFI to rein in their high-interest auto loans and participate in a comprehensive credit counseling program. With NISA Charitable Fund's vital financial and operational support, the initial results of our pilot program are encouraging, and we hope to expand our partnership base and participant pool during the second half of the year."
The DRIVE pilot program enables selected participants to refinance their auto loan at an attractive annual interest rate of six percent, representing significant monthly savings. Individuals also receive a personalized credit action plan to help repair their credit score. Recently, Katherine Faulkner, a DRIVE participant, refinanced her car note with a DRIVE loan, lowering her annual interest rate from 20.35% to 6%, saving over $120 per month. "It was a great change for the better," stated Ms. Faulkner, "I have the joy of knowing that I am no longer paying all of that interest on my loan, and now I have more money in my pocket to meet my other monthly expenses."
"This is precisely the type of meaningful impact we want to achieve in our collaborations with community organizations in St. Louis," said David Eichhorn, CFA, NISA's CEO and Head of Investment Strategies. "Our work with Justine PETERSEN is about yielding tangible, scalable results and remaining true to NISA Charitable Fund's mission to support organizations that are improving access to capital among traditionally underserved groups in St. Louis."