TSL Feature Articles

  • Financial Forecasting in the Post-Pandemic World
    Feb 28, 2022
    Executives 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.
  • TimKnight hi res headshot_150 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.

  • PeterYork_2021 Interview with SFNet President Peter B. York
    Dec 7, 2021

    Peter 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.

  • TSL1121_Wave_Anderson Is a Corporate Default Wave Ahead In 2022?
    Nov 11, 2021

    Some 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.

  • Michele Ocejo SFNet 2021 Advocacy Highlights
    Nov 9, 2021
    The 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.
  • NneomaMaduike_150 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.

  • DunlopArt 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.

  • ArinReeves_150 Hybrid Workplaces: Leadership Insights for 2021 and Beyond
    Sep 22, 2021

    As 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.

  • Michele Ocejo 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.

  • Stewart-Hayes 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.

  • EricSchloemer 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.
  • BobbiAcordNolandHeadshot_May2021_150 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.

  • Michele Ocejo 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.

  • TSL0421_MacFowle_150x150 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).

  • 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.”

  • 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.
  • Myra Thomas 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.

  • SFNet Q3 Asset-Based Lending Index Analysis

    The Q3 2020 Asset-Based Lending Index reflects improving confidence for lenders, fears of a double-dip downturn subsiding, and exhibits the continuing impact of PPP funds distributed in April. The U.S. economy rebounded during Q3 as lockdowns subsided, leading to a GDP surge of 33%.

    This growth had a clear impact on portfolio health with non-accruals, special mention, and write-offs reducing quarter over quarter.

  • Michele Ocejo Bill Stapel and Greg Eck, New Leaders of Fifth Third Bank Asset-Based Lending Group, Share Vision for 2021

    Greg Eck and Bill Stapel are the new leaders of the ABL Group at Fifth Third Bank, N.A., one of the nation’s largest asset-based lenders, with $8.1 MM in commitments and serving customers in 38 states, Canada and Europe. They step into their roles following the retirement of Fifth Third Business Capital President Mike Sharkey, who was also past president and chairman of Secured Finance Network.

  • TSL1120_AndrewMcGhee150x150 Andy McGhee on White Oak and the Lender Finance Market Ahead

    Andy McGhee is vice chairman of White Oak Commercial Finance (White Oak), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, and leads the firm’s lender finance business. He has over 30 years of experience in the lending business, most recently managing a multi-billion-dollar loan portfolio as the CEO of AloStar Capital Finance. In 2011, McGhee co-founded AloStar Capital Finance by acquiring a failed bank in Birmingham, AL.

    At the time of its sale in 2017, AloStar had committed more than $3 billion to middle-market companies. McGhee has also served in various leadership roles covering asset-based lending (ABL) at SunTrust, Citicorp, Bank South and Bank of America. McGhee sits on the board of directors for Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta and is an Elder at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Georgia.

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. 

See Profiles


Previous TSL Articles

  • John Eissele MUFG ABL Through and Through: A Conversation with John Eissele
    Dec 6, 2023
    This 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 - Wolters Kluwer_150 Vikram Savkar, General Manager for Compliance Solutions at Wolters Kluwer, Discusses his New Role
    Sep 11, 2023

    In 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.

  • Kathleen Currey_Parker Hudson_150 SFNet Women in Secured Finance Conference Addresses Strategies for Navigating Economic, Professional and Personal Change
    Aug 9, 2023
    The 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.
  • Arif Bhalwani_Cropped_150 Shields Up: How Secured Lenders in Canada Can Protect Against Undervaluation in Insolvency Driven Sales Processes
    Jul 11, 2023
    The present economic cycle distinguishes itself from previous credit crises due to the influence of unforeseeable elements that are driving inflationary pressures. Consequently, lenders find themselves navigating an extended period of ambiguity. Instead of encountering a swift surge of defaults, we anticipate a turbulent environment that demands the collective willingness of all involved parties to adapt terms and effectively address distress. 
  • Interview with Rosenthal’s Chief Lending Officer Paul Schuldiner and Director of Recourse Factoring Leigh Lones
    Jul 5, 2023

    Rosenthal & Rosenthal’s recourse factoring division, launched earlier this year, allows the company to look beyond the traditional industries served by non-recourse factoring. Here, Rosenthal’s chief lending officer, Paul Schuldiner, and director of Recourse Factoring, Leigh Lones, discuss the recourse factoring division and what they’re seeing in the industry.

  • suzanne-yoon-cropped Navigating Economic, Professional and Personal Change at SFNet's 2023 Women in Secured Finance Conference
    Jun 12, 2023
    “We have a great agenda planned for this year,” said WISF Committee Chair Laura Kemper Glass, and SVP, East Region Senior Portfolio Manager, Bank of America, N.A. “We’re bringing back, by popular demand, the small group Roundtable discussions on personal and professional change, which provide a great opportunity for intimate networking with others in the industry.”
  • SFNet 2023 Market Sizing Study Documents a Mammoth-Sized $4.866-Trillion U.S. Secured Finance Market
    Jun 6, 2023
    The Secured Finance Network’s (SFNet) new Secured Finance Market Sizing and Impact Study reports that the total secured financing volume of transaction flows to U.S. commercial businesses in 2022 was nearly $4.9 trillion. In other words, the scope of this market, which comprises seven major financing categories, “underpins, either directly or indirectly, over one-fifth of…the transaction volumes that make up the $23 trillion in U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” according to the study.
  • Nathan Pettit-NYU-150 SFNet Partners with NYU Stern to Offer new Course - Impactful Leadership for High Potentials, Bringing a Multi-faceted Learning Experience
    May 11, 2023

    The Secured Finance Foundation has joined forces with NYU Stern Executive Education to bring a multi-faceted learning experience taught by NYU Professor, Nathan Pettit (pictured) coupled with real-world secured finance applications.

    This two-day course, held in person at NYU Stern June 20-21, will introduce attendees to a variety of analytical frameworks while simultaneously modelling tactical approaches – all with the focus on developing leadership skills.

  • SFNet Member Spotlight: Sound Point Capital Management, LP
    May 8, 2023
    Sound Point Capital Management, LP 
    375 Park Avenue, 33rd Floor 
    New York, NY 10152
    www.soundpointcap.com

    Sound Point Capital Management, LP is an asset management firm founded in 2008 with particular expertise in credit strategies. 
  • Post_Jennifer_150pixels Nonbank Lenders Take Note of Venture Lending Opportunities
    May 4, 2023

    As VC markets cool, more cash-starved companies are turning to venture lending to tide them over until a new equity round is possible. Lenders are taking note—but it may not be the lenders one would expect.  

    In this Q&A with Jennifer Post, managing partner of Thompson Coburn LLP’s Los Angeles office, she discusses if recession fears are slowing down equity markets, if start-ups are depending more on risky “uncommon players” for venture capital and other critical challenges startups face.