It’s been quite a week with developments unfolding at an accelerated pace and giving rise to much thought about the way forward.  Rightly so, we are all taking steps to protect our loved ones, our colleagues, our clients, our businesses and our economies.  The Secured Finance Network is a mission- driven, global trade association committed to putting capital to work.  In times of disruption, our industry demonstrates our essential leadership and vitality.

Secured finance is critical to our economy.  Our network of lenders, service providers, investors and fellow trade associations work tirelessly to provide the working capital that fuels the operations of millions of companies of all sizes across all kinds of industries.  Our members are all-weather partners, who in challenging times extend crucial economic lifelines to our clients.  When liquidity is paramount we play a crucial role in continuing to deploy capital to the middle market when others may not.

Although social distancing is important right now, we understand that this poses significant business challenges. In light of the extraordinary upheaval impacting our industry and the global economy, having access to timely, relevant information and remaining connected is vital.  To that end, SFNet, our Chapters and our Foundation will be reformatting existing programs to virtual venues, adding new webinars on critical topics and deploying new communication tools to keep our network plugged in to emerging issues and maintaining vital linkages.  We will be publishing breaking news, data and information and advocating for critical measures pivotal to our collective well-being.

I’ve never been more proud to be part of this determined, resilient and dynamic group of organizations and professionals who do the important work of fueling our engines of growth through adversity and prosperity.  Be careful out there, and let’s continue to lead the way.