Medallion Financial reported slower RV originations in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the first quarter of 2022. However, company leaders said the volume in an industry slowdown was good.
President Andrew Murstein said, “Our recreational business … had over $100 million in originations, which is below peak levels, but we believe is still strong performance.”
Recreation Lending segment originations totaled $101.7 million in the first quarter of 2023, down 11.1% from the first quarter of 2022. Overall, however, the Recreation Lending portfolio grew 21%, to $1.2 billion, in the first quarter of 2023 from the first quarter of 2022.
The average interest rate of Recreation Lending segment loans at the end of the first quarter was 14.4%.
“We are happy with the origination volume we saw in Q1, albeit down from last year,” Chief Financial Officer Anthony Cutrone said. “Last year was an anomaly coming out of Covid in ’21 and ’22. We just saw no seasonality in originations and significant volume—that has come back to normal levels. Starting in Q3, Q4 of last year, we started to see the seasonality.”
Cutrone said although the lender expects origination volume to be lower in 2023 than it was in 2022, the company expects the Recreation Lending portfolio to be larger by year’s end than it was at the end of 2022.
