SFNet will host a webinar this Friday, May 14, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., titled "The Data You Need to Plan Ahead." This webinar is open to employees of SFNet member organizations and SFNet Chapter members only and will provide analysis behind the numbers for the Secured Finance Foundation (SFFound) Market Pulse Report, the Foundation’s Annual ABL and Factoring Surveys as well as Refinitiv’s Capital Markets League Table for Q1.

Panelists will include Barry Bobrow, managing director, Wells Fargo Securities; Miin Chen, COO, Siena Lending Group; Lawrence Chua, managing director, Ares Management LLC; Maria Dikeos, global head of Loans Contributions, Refinitiv; Terry Keating, president of Accord Financial’s US Asset Based Finance unit and Robert Wescott, president, Keybridge Research.

The webinar will feature industry leaders and data experts discussing highlights of the annual surveys SFNet conducts. All of this will come together to provide a clear picture to help you make smarter decisions about the future.

“By combining the analysis of Refinitiv and Keybridge with the data from the SFNet ABL and Factoring member surveys, we are able to better understand not only what’s happening in our businesses and our portfolios, but also provide great perspective on why it’s happening,” said Barry Bobrow, chair of SFNet’s Advocacy Committee and member of the Data Subcommittee.

Renowned economist and strategic advisor to past administrations, Fortune 500 firms, and leading financial institutions, Dr. Robert Wescott of Keybridge will discuss SFFound’s latest Market Pulse, a periodic report that informs lenders about emerging economic trends likely to affect secured lending and their borrowers’ industries over the coming quarters. SFFound's Market Pulse bridges the gap between the secured finance market, the broader economic landscape, the Washington policy world, and emerging risks, including inflation risks.

Dr. Wescott is quite bullish on U.S. economic growth over the rest of 2021. He cites, in particular, strong pent-up demand from households whose incomes have been boosted by fiscal measures, and whose spending has been heavily depressed over the past year because of COVID. Overall, he says American households have about $2 trillion in “dry powder” that can fuel spending in the coming quarters.

But he sees a flip side of this strong spending and growth, and that is a rising risk of inflation. He says we are already seeing evidence of rising commodity prices, but he believes the key thing to watch is if commodity inflation morphs into service-sector inflation. 

“Such a shift into service-sector inflation would suggest that inflation expectations are becoming more entrenched, and therefore more worrisome,” Wescott said.

Maria Dikeos, head of Global Loans Contributions, Refinitiv noted that 2020 was a difficult year with a very long shadow cast by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“In the capital markets, lenders grappled with cost of capital, pricing and tenors during the height of the pandemic, before briskly snapping back as the virtual office environment settled into a new groove and proved itself nimble despite circumstances,” Dikeos explained.  “In 2021, the roll out of the vaccine and growing hopes for a return to some sort of normalcy have boosted not only appetite for risk, but also new deal financings.  There are opportunities to be had, but it is still a delicate market dance for lenders and borrowers alike.  This webinar discussion will allow us all to think about not only recent data results, but also the economic overlay which has impacted the market.  What has changed year over year?  Are they impactful for the rest of the 2021 pipeline?”

To register, please click here.