TSL Feature Articles
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The Story of Foothill Capital
In this new feature series, “The Story of,” Charlie Perer sits with the key entrepreneurs and executives who have built leading commercial finance companies to talk about the origins of their respective firms. The purpose of this series is to tell the story behind many of the most famous and dynamic firms of past, present and future. The first feature is about Foothill Capital, which, of course was acquired by Norwest in 1998 and later by Wells Fargo. The core team at Foothill went on to be leaders at Wells Fargo Capital Finance and throughout the entire commercial finance industry.
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In the Spotlight: Women-Dominated Teams in Secured Finance
Apr 3, 2023It’s no secret that, despite great progress in the last couple of decades, secured finance remains a male-dominated field. Here, we shine the spotlight on three unique SFNet members whose teams are made up of more women than men. -
It’s All About the People
There are few individuals more genuinely positive and upbeat than SFNet’s own Michele Ocejo. On her 30th anniversary of joining SFNet, I took the opportunity to sit down with our heralded but unassuming director of communications and discussed the importance of relationships, making an impact, and the joy she gets from sharing people’s stories.
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Taking a More Proactive Approach to Retention
Secured finance, much like the rest of financial services, is often a high-pressure industry, requiring long hours to resolve client concerns, handle due diligence, and scout for new prospects. Professionals in the field are commonly answering emails in the wee hours of the morning and late into the night. But the greying of the industry and attrition are causing secured finance executives to take a long, hard look at employee concerns, as well as DEI, recruitment, and retention initiatives. -
Interview with Gordon Brothers’ New CEO Norma Kuntz
Mar 20, 2023In December, Gordon Brothers announced that Norma Kuntz would be appointed CEO of the company, effective February 13, 2023. Ken Frieze and Michael Frieze will continue to serve the company as chairman and chairman emeritus, respectively.
Kuntz joined Gordon Brothers as its president and chief operating officer in June 2022 and quickly demonstrated her readiness to lead the firm. Prior to Gordon Brothers, she served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of global private equity at The Carlyle Group. Her nearly 25 years of financial services industry experience includes global roles within private equity, asset management, alternative investments and valuations, positioning her well to lead a multi-disciplinary global firm poised for growth.
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Crypto-Based Lending and the 2022 UCC Amendments
Feb 6, 2023In this article, the author revisits cryptocurrency-based lending and how the 2022 UCC amendments provide welcome clarity to lending transactions involving digital assets. -
Factors: Prepared for Uncertainty Ahead
Jan 30, 2023Factors discuss what surprised them in 2022, California’s disclosure laws, rising interest rates, the move from ABL to factoring and what they expect 2023 will bring.
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Three Keys to a Successful Workout
Given the relatively low levels of outstanding loan balances and the macro-economic environment over the past couple of years, the number of borrowers/loans that have ended up going into ‘workout’ have been few and far between. PKF Clear Thinking executives provide details on what is needed for a workout to succeed for both lender and borrower -
Interview with Bank of America’s Seth Benefield
In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Seth Benefield, head of Bank of America Business Capital and Asset-Based Financing, to hear his perspective on the state of the ABL market, challenges of running one of the biggest ABL groups, ABL as a product or business, leadership and competition, among other things. -
Trade Credit Insurance – More than Insurance
Dec 1, 2022The global trade credit market continues to grow with increased international business opportunities and carriers making trade credit more accessible to the market. You may be asking – what is trade credit insurance? Trade credit insurance (TCI) insures your accounts receivables against losses due to bankruptcy, unforeseen insolvency, or protracted default. But, trade credit insurance is more than just insurance. Once your A/R is insured, it is a secured asset, and can be used to leverage many ROIs.
Why do companies acquire a trade credit insurance policy? Trade credit can help build a healthy pipeline of new revenue, increase access to capital, prevent a catastrophic loss, and strengthen an organization’s balance sheet. Here are the top four motivating factors for trade credit Insurance.
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Workout Workshop: A Guide to Navigating Problem Loans
Nov 28, 2022
Many ABL professionals have little to no workout or bankruptcy experience thanks to the past ten years of relative calm. This article details the anatomy of an ABL workout and serves as a primer for many readers and a refresher course for more experienced lenders.
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The Single Group Facility: Simplifying Cross-Border Receivables Finance
Nov 21, 2022In November of 2021, SFNet announced its first Cross-Border Finance Essay Contest, sponsored by Goldberg Kohn Ltd. Members of SFNet’s International Finance and Development Committee judged the essay submissions on content, originality, clarity, structure and overall contribution to furthering and expanding understanding and discourse within the field of cross-border finance. This essay is the first-place essay.
The authors of the winning essays have been invited to participate on a panel at SFNet’s 78th Annual Convention in Austin, TX, Nov. 9-11. The third place essays were published in the September issue of TSL and the second place winner was published in the October issue. -
Nonbank Regional Asset-Based Lenders Provide an Overview of their Market
TSL’s editor-in-chief gathered the heads of several nonbank regional asset-based lenders to discuss the industry from their point of view, including the challenges and opportunities, effects of COVID and their predictions for the upcoming year.
The executives interviewed are Tom Cleveland, managing partner, Access Business Finance; Michael Fussell, president, Aegis Business Credit; J. Brad Leach, president & CEO, Lighthouse Financial Corp.; Rhett Rowe, CEO, Great Lakes Business Credit; and Patrick Trammell, founding member and president, Southeastern Commercial Finance. -
SFNet's 2022 Hall of Fame Profiles
Nov 10, 2022On the following pages, we honor the industry icons who have been inducted into the 2022 SFNet Hall of Fame. We all owe a debt of gratitude to these leaders. Although they represent the industry during various periods of time, they have all made critical contributions to secured finance and deserve our appreciation for making the industry and our association what it is today.
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Interview with Michael Scolaro, BMO Commercial Bank ABL
Nov 3, 2022As part of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Michael Scolaro, managing director and asset based group head for BMO Commercial Bank ABL, to hear his perspective on the state of the BL market, bank vs. non-bank competition, the future of ABL, executive development and competition, among other things. -
Talk of Wave of Borrower Defaults Overblown
Nov 1, 2022Will the long-predicted wave of defaults come to fruition? Key players in the industry provide their perspectives.
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Factoring 101
Factoring is an age-old form of financing providing companies with much-needed cash.
It takes money to make money, as any business owner knows. But many small businesses also know what it’s like to be turned down by a bank for a loan or line of credit, not get as much as they need, or simply not get the cash quickly enough to take advantage of an opportunity.
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Asset-Based Lending: A Primer
Oct 11, 2022Simply put, asset-based lending (ABL) is a way of lending money to companies. Such loans are made by commercial banks and by specialty finance companies, and loan sizes can range from several hundred thousand to many hundreds of millions of dollars. These loan proceeds are used to assist companies in high-growth, distressed, or sometimes even in start-up situations.
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Field Exam in Changing Times: Fundamentals and Best Practices
Oct 7, 2022Jan Tammen of PNC Business Credit discusses some of the lasting changes to the field exam industry brought on by the pandemic.
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Field Examinations in 2022 and Beyond
Oct 5, 2022TSL’s editor-in-chief interviewed several field exam professionals as well as lenders to get an overview of what lenders should look for, the current challenges and the effects of the pandemic.
Click on the link below to meet some of the “difference makers” in the secured finance community. This issue of The Secured Lender celebrates those who are having a profound impact on both their communities and their organizations.
Previous TSL Articles
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SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference: Industry Uncertainty Presents Threats and Opportunities
Feb 22, 2024SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference (ABCC), now in its 16th year, was held February 6-7 in Las Vegas. Attendees experienced thought-provoking discussions on the economy, geopolitics, talent retention, credit quality and industry dynamics.
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Wolters Kluwer’s Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator Survey – Key Takeaways
Feb 13, 2024TSL Express’ senior editor sat down with Tim Burniston, senior advisor, Regulatory Strategy, for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions to discuss the results of Wolters Kluwer’s Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator survey. Burniston advises Wolters Kluwer’s Financial & Corporate Compliance divisional leadership team and clients on emerging issues, legislative and regulatory developments, and regulatory strategy. -
SFNet’s Mentoring Program: Continuing to Guide Growth
Jan 30, 2024SFNet’s second iteration of the program nearly doubled its participants and is proving to be an invaluable resource for members.
The application period for our Spring 2024 Mentoring Program is January 10 through February 23, 2024. The program will run March 19 through June 4, 2024. -
How Today's Economic Pressures Will Affect Tomorrow's Consumer
Jan 16, 2024The consumer product industry is facing rapid, unprecedented change, and today’s economic challenges are creating ripple effects that will shape American shoppers for years to come. With data mining, there’s a path forward. -
Muskets and Drones: The Need for Super Regional Banks
Jan 8, 2024In 2023 the SVB crises brought Super Regional Banks into the national spotlight. Countless stories were run speculating on the viability of many, but few addressed the how and why many of these banks came to be. The rise, creation and further consolidation of Super Regionals is a story worth telling and one that will likely continue to play out in 2024 in a meaningful way. -
Doing What We Do Best: Current Economic Environment Provides Opportunities
Dec 21, 2023“Geopolitical concerns, maintaining strong credit quality, and the constant impacts of inflation and interest rates are all top issues to watch in 2024,” said ABCC Conference Chair, Barry Bobrow, who serves as managing director and head of Credit Markets for Regions Business Capital. “ABCC’s panels and networking events are designed to provide education and key insights on these topics and more. The Conference is a great opportunity to help attendees set their business strategy for the coming year. We look forward to welcoming everyone in February.”
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An Interview with MidCap Business Credit’s Steven Samson and Seth Cooper
Dec 12, 2023Steven Samson, president, has been with MidCap for more than 10 years and is responsible for the oversight of all functions of the business. Steve has more than 30 years experience in commercial banking and asset-based lending including senior roles at People’s United Bank, GE Capital, and RBS Citizens Business Capital.
Seth A. Cooper is senior vice president, sales manager, business development officer – Northeast, is responsible for new business development throughout the Northeast. He has spent the last 20 years building asset-based businesses for both large regional banks and independent commercial finance companies. -
ABL Through and Through: A Conversation with John Eissele
Dec 6, 2023This past Fall, MUFG announced leadership changes within its Asset-Based Finance team designed to align the team to better support its overall ABF growth strategy in the Americas. Leadership team members are based in three key markets – New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. John Eissele, who has been with the bank for 11 years, was appointed as MUFG’s new head of ABF. Here, Eissele discusses his goals, strategic priorities, challenges and opportunities. -
Vikram Savkar, General Manager for Compliance Solutions at Wolters Kluwer, Discusses his New Role
Sep 11, 2023In July, Wolters Kluwer announced Vikram Savkar was hired as general manager, Compliance Solutions. In this capacity, Savkar oversees a successful, growing business within Wolters Kluwer noted for its product innovation, technology advancements, and unparalleled domain expertise. The business is dedicated to helping financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations while gaining the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business. Here, he discusses his top priorities and goals in his new position and compliance concerns.
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SFNet Women in Secured Finance Conference Addresses Strategies for Navigating Economic, Professional and Personal Change
Aug 9, 2023The SFNet Women in Secured Finance Committee planned and hosted a thought-provoking conference on June 14 and 15 that afforded women in secured finance an opportunity to explore strategies for navigating economic, professional and personal change, while also providing ample opportunities to network with other women in the finance industry. This day and a half conference started with a welcome reception at Paul Hastings the evening of June 14, followed by a full-day conference on June 15.
In This Section
The Secured Lender
SFNet's 40 Under 40 Awards Issue
