TSL Feature Articles
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Factoring Trends for 2022
Mar 14, 2022What’s in fashion for factoring this coming spring? Quite a bit. This year’s trends show what we’ve all been keeping under wraps for the last two years, and we’ll be seeing some definite changes.
First up, a cascade of activity with more traditional bank lenders that retained customers during the pandemic based on regulatory allowances and readily available government funding may start pushing out underperforming loans. -
Interview with Bob Grbic, President & CEO of White Oak Commercial Finance and the Chair of SFNet’s Factoring Committee
Mar 10, 2022Robert Grbic has more than 30 years of commercial lending experience. He has been with the company and its predecessor since 2005, previously serving as senior executive vice president and chief credit officer where he was involved in creating a hands-on, best-practices credit culture, as well as helping the Company expand its client portfolio.
Before that, Grbic was managing director at MorrisAnderson & Associates ltd., a turnaround-consulting firm. He also co-founded MetSource Capital, LLC, a restructuring and corporate finance firm, working primarily with small- and medium-sized companies. In addition, Grbic has also served at GMAC Commercial Credit, LLC, BNY Financial Corp and Bankers Trust. He has served as an instructor for the Finance, Tax and Law Department at the NYU School of Continuing Education. Grbic holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration from Pace University.
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Members of SFNet’s Factoring Committee Discuss Sources of Business, Supply Chain Issues and More
Mar 8, 2022
TSL’s editor-in-chief sat down with several members of the SFNet Factoring Committee to review the current landscape in early 2022. Participants include Carol Apicella, senior vice president, BankFinancial Government Finance; Tina Capobianco, senior vice president, J D Factors Corporation; Dan Karas, executive vice president, Allied Affiliated Funding; Kevin Laborde, president, Cash Flow Resources; and Paul Schuldiner, executive vice president & chief lending officer, Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc.
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Financial Forecasting in the Post-Pandemic World
Feb 28, 2022Executives from PKF Clear Thinking provide key points that both lenders and their borrowers need to be mindful of when preparing and reviewing 2022 and beyond business plans.
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An Interview with Tim Knight, Senior Managing Partner, ThinkingAhead
In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Tim Knight (pictured) to hear his perspective on executive development, advice for lenders, the growth in the non-bank market, what every executive should be thinking about, the importance of diversity and lessons learned, among other things.
Knight is the vice president and senior managing partner with ThinkingAhead where he is responsible for operations, training and recruiting for the firm. He also leads the partner group that heads up the firm’s Commercial Banking and Commercial Finance, Legal, Life Sciences and Security/Physical infrastructure search practices.
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Interview with SFNet President Peter B. York
Dec 7, 2021Peter York is managing director and head of the Asset Based Lending (ABL) practice for the Corporate & Investment Bank of J.P. Morgan. He has been with J.P. Morgan for over 17 years and has more than 27 years of secured ABL experience. York’s strengths include large multibank syndicated financing, cross-border structuring, leveraged buyout finance, and bankruptcy and debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
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Is a Corporate Default Wave Ahead In 2022?
Nov 11, 2021Some turnaround and M&A leaders are predicting the second quarter of 2022 could be when the “default boom” hits. Asset-based lenders, factors, and other secured lenders will need to be at the ready to handle turnaround deals.
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SFNet 2021 Advocacy Highlights
Nov 9, 2021The COVID pandemic pushed SFNet’s already active advocacy program into overdrive in 2020 and the past year has kept our advocacy volunteers just as busy. As we work to find the balance between economic health and personal well being, the SFNet team has had to quickly mobilize at times to respond to a diverse array of issues, from concerns around damaging flaws in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program to the ongoing saga of state financial disclosure bills. -
How Diverse Teams Make Successful Companies
Nneoma Maduike of Otterbourg P.C. discusses the impact a diverse team can have on a company’s performance.
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Ready, Set, Disclose? ESG Lending and The Middle Market
The European Union’s recent passage of its Sustainability Financial Disclosure Regulation marks yet another milestone in the progression of environmental, social and governance matters. This article will review this regulation and related ESG disclosure requirements, together with other notable ESG developments, and discuss their impact on middle-market lenders.
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Hybrid Workplaces: Leadership Insights for 2021 and Beyond
Sep 22, 2021As we emerge from the social distancing constraints of the pandemic into the evolving definitions of a “workplace,” the term “hybrid workplace” has become a ubiquitous part of our “return to work” conversations. As I have been researching the different dynamics of “hybrid workplaces” and speaking with leaders of various types of organizations on what the term means to them, I have discovered a few insights that can help leaders navigate their new realities and guide their workforces in smoothly transitioning to new ways of thinking, connecting and working.
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Legal Issues Surrounding Returning to the Office: Interview with Brooke Iley, Co-Chair of Blank Rome’s Labor & Employment Practice Group
Brooke Iley counsels and defends domestic and foreign corporations in all areas of employment and labor law compliance and litigation, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour class and collective actions, trade secret disputes and data protection, and alleged fiduciary breaches. She represents clients in negotiations, litigations, and arbitrations nationally in these areas.
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Leadership Through Uncharted Waters
The last 18 months have brought challenges unlike no other. Stewart Hayes, chair of the SFNet 2021 40 Under 40 Awards and managing director, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, sat down with four former SFNet 40 Under 40 Award winners who led their company or group practice during 2020-2021 to dive into how they addressed challenges, what helped prepare them to weather the COVID crisis, and advice on handling the next curveball.
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Restaurant Rebound Tests the Limits of U.S. Food Distributors
Foodservice distributors generally adapted well to the massive disruptions triggered by the pandemic, but the sector is feeling the strain of the latest shift—the rapid return of tens of millions of Americans to in-person dining. -
Interview with Bobbi Acord Noland, SFNet’s New Co-General Counsel
Bobbi Acord Noland is a partner at Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. As head of the Commercial Finance practice, Bobbi guides global banks, regional banks and finance companies through domestic and cross-border transactions ranging from $5 million to more than $1 billion. She has handled practically every aspect of commercial lending, from single-lender deals to syndicated facilities involving multiple lenders, borrowers, creditors and multi-tiered debt tranches. In addition, Bobbi frequently advises her clients on workouts and restructurings.
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Interview with Valerie Mason and Nneoma Maduike, Co-Chairs of Otterbourg’s Lender Finance Practice Group
In February, Otterbourg P.C. announced that Valerie S. Mason and Nneoma A. Maduike had been named co-chairs of the firm’s Lender Finance Practice Group. Otterbourg’s experienced Lender Finance team advises and represents the largest U.S. and global institutional lenders and regional banks, as lenders and mature lenders, sponsors supported companies, and strategics, ranging from startups to mature traditional lenders and funds, merchant cash advance companies, asset-based lenders, factors and fintech lenders, as borrowers, in “lender to lender” secured revolving credit and term loan facilities.
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Interview with Mac Fowle, Global Head of Asset-Based Lending for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking
Mac Fowle is the global head of Asset-Based Lending (ABL) for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking. He is responsible for the end-to-end strategic leadership of the ABL group in supporting the financing needs for clients across Commercial Banking and the Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB).
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Is Cannabis Lending In Your Future?
Armstrong Teasdale partners provide lenders with up-to-date information on the complexities of lending to the legalized marijuana industry.
Perhaps the most frequently asked question by growth-oriented lenders is “How and when can we lend into the rapidly growing and already major industry of legalized marijuana?”
The answer is: “It is not so simple.”
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Aftershocks Coming? Anticipating Borrower Defaults and Defenses When Stimulus Ends
When the world turned upside-down a year ago, many predicted that the severity of the damage to the U.S. economy would usher in a period of borrower defaults, business failures and bank foreclosures. Rapid government intervention, including bank regulatory easing, has prevented that series of events, for now. Those policy measures will surely come to an end before long, at which point lender enforcement activity will likely increase.
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Assessing The Bankruptcy Environment: The Experts Weigh In
The Federal Paycheck Protection Program loan funds did buy many struggling businesses time to weather the proverbial economic storm. Plus, secured lenders, not surprisingly, found it much more advantageous to work with borrowers and extend liquidity than deal with a bankrupt business. The idea was simply that the pandemic couldn’t last forever and that the economy, as it is now, does appear to be on the mend.
Asset-based lenders were aware of the problems going into the pandemic. Not surprisingly, brick and mortar retailers, already facing significant financial stress before the shutdown, did take the brunt of the pandemic and many were forced to shutter stores, says Dan Karas, executive vice president of Allied Affiliated Funding, a division of Axiom Bank, N.A. Many large retailer liquidations dominated 2020, including J.C. Penney and Pier 1. The silver lining for lenders, as it turns out, is that liquidations were generally not the order of the day for most businesses, he adds. According to data from Epiq, commercial Chapter 11 filings grew year-over-year, up 29% in 2020 compared to 2019.
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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Interview with Melissa Mok, Director of Asset-Based Lending Originations, Truist Securities
The Women in Secured Finance e-newsletter's feature interview for this issue is with Melissa Mok, director of asset-based lending for Truist Securities. Mok joined Truist Securities in 2014. Located in Texas, she is responsible for ABL originations of mid- and large-cap companies and is currently focused on the Financial Services, Energy and Industrial Services. TMT and TME industry verticals.
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SFNet’s Emerging Leaders Summit, Mid-Year Roundtables to Offer More Networking Opportunities
May 1, 2023SFNet’s Emerging Leaders Summit (formerly YoPro Leadership Summit) will be held in Florida for the first time since its inception in 2018. This year, SFNet is adding Mid-Year Member Roundtables, a CEO Roundtable (invitation only), and a Chapter Presidents meeting held in conjunction with the Summit, May 22-23, 2023 at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, FL.
“Our younger members have told us they want to build relationships with cohorts at all levels of experience and influence as well as with their peers,” said Rich Gumbrecht, CEO, SFNet. “So, we tried something new this year by coupling our Mid-Year Member Roundtables and Chapter Presidents meeting with the Emerging Leader Summit. We programmed lots of interconnectivity through social events and shared programming to create a contact-rich environment.” -
SFNet's International Lending Conference to Address Restructuring, Insolvency, M&A Market Review, Private Debt, and More in London
Apr 17, 2023SFNet's International Lending Conference (ILC) brings together some of the most interesting players on the international lending scene for discussions and insights into what lies ahead. This year’s Conference will be held at DLA Piper Offices, May 9-11, 2023.
“War, energy crisis, high inflation, synchronized interest rate hikes and stagnation in China, should have pushed the European economy in a deep recession,” said economist and journalist, Dr. Mathijs Bouman, who will kick off the Conference. “But, the old continent is more resilient than many feared and the downturn could turn out to be shallow and short-lived. But new challenges lay ahead for European industries: the structurally tight labor market, trade and investment wars and fragmentation of the world economy and the rising costs of climate policy.”
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What’s in Fashion for Factoring, 2023
Apr 10, 2023Last year was not the type of “cascade” we thought it would be – at all – as 2022 turned out to be more characterized by a surge of rising rate hikes and new concerns, versus a wave of new deals. Undeterred, we’re back this year to so see what could be infashion for factoring in 2023.
First on our list, the hot new color for this year – Viva Magenta!
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“Know Your Borrower” Now Has a New Lens
Mar 17, 2023Longstanding guidance to “know your borrower” is respected for good reason. The recent and unexpected upheaval in the banking and lending sector is triggering a renewed focus on financial risk management relating to borrowers and potential borrowers.
Banks and lenders need a clear understanding of the treasury-management function and risk-mitigation strategies employed by their borrowers and potential borrowers. As in previous challenging economic environments, the current uncertainty is an unpleasant, but beneficial, reminder to evaluate – or re-evaluate – these important functions and strategies. The Treasury Management Gap Analysis is an essential way to achieve this goal. -
Catching up with Abby Parsonnet, Head of Asset Based Lending at Webster Bank
Mar 13, 2023Last Fall, Webster Bank announced that Abby Parsonnet was named executive managing director, head of Asset Based Lending (ABL) for Webster Bank. In her role, she oversees the nationwide Asset-Based Lending and Commercial Services teams at Webster, which also includes staffing solutions and factoring. She reports to Chris Motl, president of Commercial Banking.
As head of ABL, Parsonnet is responsible for continuing Webster’s strong tradition of excellence in delivering customized working capital solutions to middle- market clients and sponsors. She will lead a team of bankers based in strategic markets nationwide.
Here, Abby discusses her career, goals in her new role, how the merger with Sterling National Bank helped to expand Webster’s offerings, particularly in ABL and factoring, and more.
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The Rise of Seller Financing
Mar 8, 2023In the coming months, be on the lookout for an increase in seller-financed mergers and acquisitions activity.
For the last several years, the small and midsized business segment was experiencing increasing purchase price multiples fueled by low interest rates and the available credit made possible by banks’ confidence in a robust economy. Owners of solid businesses – motivated by a desire to close deals before anticipated possible changes in the current tax code – staged auctions and entertained multiple competing all-cash offers. Buyers took advantage of easy credit and low rates to deploy a combination of debt and equity, with debt on the portion of a deal supported by commercial real estate often exceeding 70%.
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Wolters Kluwer’s Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator Survey Outlook
Feb 16, 2023TSL 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 the Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk, and Compliance executive leadership team and clients on emerging issues, legislative and regulatory developments, and regulatory strategy.
Now in its tenth year, the Indicator “takes the pulse” of the U.S. banking industry and is based on 10 different factors: compliance, regulatory environmental and risk management factors. The Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator Survey was conducted between July 27-September 9, 2022, and received 328 responses. Survey respondents are primarily from smaller banks, savings and loan institutions and credit unions. Keeping pace with the volume, scope and breadth of regulatory changes topped the list of key concerns facing U.S. banks, credit unions, and other lenders. To learn more about the survey, click here.
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Review and Forecast with Capital One's Dave Kucera
Feb 1, 2023As a leading authority and 25-year veteran of the investment and commercial banking sectors, Dave Kucera, head of Capital One’s Financial Institutions Group, sat with TSL Express’ senior editor to discuss best practices for managing market cycles. Including the commercial banking trends to watch out for in 2023 and key steps financial institutions can take to better navigate the current economic landscape.
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SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference: Attendees Gear Up for “The Great Reboot”
Jan 9, 2023Conference Aims to Set New Strategies for the New World
Now three years since the onset of the global pandemic, the asset-based capital market, like so many others, finds itself at a new beginning. While the economy and environment continue to shift, the asset-based capital community has taken uncertainty into account for its business plans as it marches into a new year. SFNet’s ABCC theme, “The Great Reboot,” is about setting new strategies for a new world.
“We’ve been able to bring together some of the best minds in the space to help us put these changes in context and offer practical implications for our business plans going forward,” Rich Gumbrecht, SFNet CEO, said. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a more august set of speakers. You’ll want to take good notes.”
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