TSL Feature Articles

The recession of 2008-2009 brought many lessons to the lending community; and the small independent finance companies were no exception. When looking back at that period, many of the lessons that we should all remember occurred in 2005-2007, during the lead up to the recession.

If you’ll recall, the economy was strong and business was booming. For small independent finance companies (that typically run counter-cyclical), new business was harder to come by and highly competitive. As is often the case, this led to aggressive structures and lower pricing, a bad combination.

While lenders and financial institutions are not looking to discover the next vaccine or medical breakthrough, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have been reshaping traditional business processes at a rapid speed. Many decision makers in the C-Suites, while still responsible for ensuring everyday “blocking and tackling” is done, are dealing with how best to integrate AI/ML into their companies, and at what cost. This article takes a deeper dive into how AI and ML are being utilized in the industry along with the factors leaders must consider with AI/ML integration.

SFNet will be hosting part two of its Independent Finance Roundtable 2021 August 17 - 19, 2021 in-person at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel in Chicago, IL. For 2021, we created a unique, invitation-only experience for senior executives from SFNet member entrepreneurial finance and factoring companies. IFR 2021 is a two-part event. The first part on April 27 was a free, live online roundtable discussion and an overview of our August in-person agenda. Panelists and attendees will come together next week to discuss the state of M&A, legal issues impacting our industry, and other timely topics that may affect your business.

In addition to the roundtable meetings and discussions, IFR will offer optional activities to take full advantage of your time in Chicago.

SFNet’s 2021 4th annual YoPro Leadership Summit will be held in-person in Chicago and live online August 3-4. Young professionals of the secured finance industry will join together for opportunities to hear from industry leaders, connect with peers, and discover together how to find success in our changing industry environment.

After a more than a year of countless Zooms and Teams meetings, this year’s event will offer attendees opportunities to socialize in unique ways.  On August 3, there will be an opportunity to attend an optional golf outing at Medinah Country Club, followed by a kick-off party in the evening. 

Afterwards, attendees can stick around for a kick-off party from 7:00-10:00 p.m. CDT at Flight Club, offering drinks and friendly darts competition. A full day of live online content will take place on August 4.

"The YoPro Leadership Summit is a wonderful event that brings together the best and brightest of the YoPro community throughout the country," said William Bence, managing director, Wingspire Capital. "It's a great opportunity to network among the future and emerging leaders in the industry."

The COVID-19 pandemic caused ecommerce to transition from “convenient” to “essential,” but what does the post-pandemic world hold for this sector?

The industry worldwide was profoundly shaken by the events of 2020, and the two-day SFNet International Lending Conference provided attendees with a broad global view of economic recovery and a deep dive into the new normal of covenants, risk management and other areas of the secured finance business.

Kristen Holihan is a Senior Vice President, Senior Business Development Officer for Bank of America Business Capital (BABC), the asset based lending team at Bank of America. Kristen is responsible for identifying and engaging new ABL opportunities and working with potential borrowers to get a new ABL revolver structured and closed. She is focused on covering private equity groups, advisors, middle market companies, and large corporate companies, in both Metro New York and Upstate New York, to deliver these solutions. Kristen has also spent significant time as an ABL underwriter, as well as on the Leveraged Finance Origination and Capital Markets teams. Kristen graduated from Babson College in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science (concentration in finance). She will also be starting the Executive MBA Program at Columbia University in August 2021. Kristen is a member of the Diversity Equity and Inclusiveness Committee for the Secured Finance Network, as well as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at Bank of America.