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In August, eCapital, a leading capital solutions provider for small and medium-sized businesses in North America and the UK, announced the launch of a new commercial credit card program with Visa, the world leader in digital payments. The eCapital connect platform is a hub where clients can access their money from their factoring account and line of credit utilizing a Visa Commercial Credit Card or by transferring funds to their external bank instantly 24 hours a via Visa Direct.  

TSL Express sat down with eCapital’s Charles Sheppard, chief operating officer, to discuss more on what he describes as a revolutionary partnership that allows customers more money, with faster access and less hassle, to be more control in how money is received and when it’s spent.

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.

SFNet's Cross-Border Lending Summit is back in a two-part virtual conference and will explore what the cross-border ABL world looks like now. The event will be live online over two days, Thursday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 30 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EDT each day.

The Summit will discuss:

• the UK—First it was Brexit, then it was COVID, then it was sausages. Now what?
• A deep dive into the Luxembourg pool to consider Luxco lending structures for the first time
• A two-part exploration of cross-border ABL financing in 2021 and beyond. Are there now two universes?

Thank you to our conference sponsor, Winston & Strawn LLP.

White Oak Global Advisors (“White Oak”) has completed the acquisition of Finacity Corporation (“Finacity”) a global leader in working capital and trade finance funding solutions to global businesses. 

Finacity originates, structures and places over USD$100 billion in trade finance receivables yearly with over 50 leading financial institutions in asset-backed security structures.  Finacity has facilitated transactions for receivables denominated in 58 currencies with obligors in more than 175 countries making it the largest non-bank trade finance platform globally.

FGI Worldwide LLC (www.FGIWW.com) has announced the hiring of David Ding as a Managing Director based out of the New York office. In this capacity, Ding will be leading the expansion of FGI’s asset-based lending capabilities in the North American marketplace.

Ding brings a decade of experience lending to middle market companies in the U.S. to complement FGI’s core specialty in multi-jurisdictional financings. In his new role, Ding will focus on executing senior secured asset-based financing transactions backed by accounts receivable, inventory, machinery & equipment, real estate, and enterprise value.

We’re excited to bring the secured finance community together live and in-person at SFNet’s 77^th Annual Convention – Adapt. Renew. Grow. – on November 3^rd-5^th in Phoenix. 

We recognize that there is a lot of uncertainty right now, so SFNet has instituted a no-risk registration policy* that gives you the flexibility to sign up today with an option to cancel your in-person attendance for any reason up to the day before the Convention. We’ll refund you the difference between our in-person cost and our virtual rate so you can easily convert to online attendance if anything changes between now and November 2^nd.

Monroe Capital LLC today announced it has expanded its platform to Asia with the appointment of Alex Kim, as Managing Director and Head of Asia. The newly opened office in Seoul, South Korea reflects Monroe’s commitment to expanding its business in Asia.

Prior to Monroe, Alex was the CEO and Managing Director of Korea and Head of Southeast Asia Institutions at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Alex has over 20 years of experience in asset management and banking, with 15 years spent in the Asia Pacific region.

BHI, a full-service commercial bank, announced that its Food & Beverage Group has closed a total of $100 million in new financing transactions.  The robust volume of transactions reflects the continued expansion of BHI’s Food & Beverage Group.

For Citromax Group and Citromax International Corporation, BHI has provided a $27.5 million revolving line of credit. 

Economic Context

As many SFNet members know, a strong work-out culture, in which lenders and their financially distressed borrowers use out-of-court workouts (OCWs") as a less costly and more efficient alternative to  formal bankruptcy proceedings, is a well-established feature of the U.S. lending environment. 

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.