Wells Fargo named Cynthia Caine to lead the lender’s commercial auto finance group. Caine, 53, replaces Jerry Bowen, who retired this month.
Caine joined Wells Fargo in 2016 as part of the G.E. Capital acquisition and has worked in financial services for 30 years, Wells Fargo said in a statement.
Caine most recently led the diversified industries group within distribution finance, which provides finance programs to manufacturers in the material handling, technology, industrial and health care markets. These verticals represent $1.2 billion in annual volume for the lender and made up an overall portfolio of more than $3 billion.
Caine told Automotive News that her vast experience in equipment finance will be an asset as she moves into this role.
“That’s an area I feel that maybe hasn’t been as much of a focus or a discussion with the dealers but is a great source of capital,” she said.
Wells Fargo is one of the largest U.S. auto lenders, having originated $7 billion in automotive loans in the first quarter of 2021. Its total auto portfolio sits at $49.5 billion.
Wells Fargo Commercial Auto group’s loan commitments total $13 billion. It serves 750 dealership groups, which include 4,500 rooftop entities, and has more than 200 employees.
Another priority for Caine is increasing diversity in the financial services industry. Caine previously was co-head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
“A lot of industries lack diversity, ours included,” she said. “Bringing diverse thought is going to help bolster the very deep knowledge we have in auto and open some doors that maybe we weren’t really thinking about.”