Atlantic Union Bank pushing dealer finance, floorplanning initiatives

Following its $1.6 billion acquisition of Sandy Spring Bank in October 2024, Atlantic Union Bank continues to grow as its equipment finance and dealer finance businesses strengthen the company’s wholesale banking operations. 

Atlantic Union views its dealer finance vertical in its wholesale segment as a key market opportunity for its specialty banking initiatives, Ring said.  

“The big push now is we’ll be developing floor planning, and so the full range of services for that, so that will be a nice lift in lending because floor planning goes pretty fast,” he said. “We are working with our vendors now to make sure we have the right systems in place for that business.” 

Atlantic Union’s dealer finance vertical provides working capital and acquisition funds for dealers in auto, powersports and equipment, according to the company’s investor day presentation. The bank also plans to expand its dealer finance offerings by enabling instant payments to settle real-time auction purchases rather than legacy check disbursement. 

Additionally, the bank is deepening its successful specialty lines that offer strong potential, Ring said. These include:  

• Asset-based lending,  

• Dealer finance; and  

• Equipment finance. 

Wider wholesale banking growth 

Atlantic Union Bank’s business-to-business wholesale banking segment has expanded capabilities such as foreign exchange, equipment finance and asset-based lending, President, Chief Executive and Director John Asbury said during the bank’s Dec. 10 investor day. 

Wholesale banking “has really been arguably the fastest-growing part of the company, and things like the equipment finance division have been a tremendous success for us,” he said. “The additional capabilities that we bring to the table for the former Sandy Spring franchise bring more tools; we’re not constrained [by] liquidity, by capital.” 

Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, launched in October 2019, is the 29th-largest bank-owned equipment finance company in the United States, David Ring, executive vice president of Atlantic Union Bank, said during the investor day. 

In the third quarter, Atlantic Union reported sales-type and direct financing lease receivables, net of unearned income and deferred selling profit, which represent its equipment leases, of $585 million, up 18.7% year over year. 

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