TSL Feature Articles

Stewart Hayes, Managing Director/Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Lender Finance, and Incoming SFNet President, shares his career history and extensive contributions to SFNet as well as his top priorities and industry challenges and opportunities.

The Secured Lender's “Anatomy of a Deal” case studies offer an inside view of how secured finance professionals approach complex situations and develop solutions tailored to each borrower’s needs. 

A successful transaction is about more than a financial snapshot in time. While P&L statements and mitigating risk are important, success lies in building relationships, developing innovative solutions, and assessing a company and its future holistically. The Hedaya Capital Group exemplifies this approach with its interactions with entrepreneurs.

Our “Anatomy of a Deal” case studies offer an inside view of how secured finance professionals approach complex situations and develop solutions tailored to each borrower’s needs. 

This anatomy of a deal breaks down a highly leveraged acquisition financing that required creativity, speed and cooperation among all parties. From restructuring the capital stack mid-process to resolving a complicated seller note negotiation, the deal illustrates how flexibility, communication and disciplined structuring can keep a complex transaction moving toward a successful close.

Our “Anatomy of a Deal” case studies offer an inside view of how secured finance professionals approach complex situations and develop solutions tailored to each borrower’s needs. 

High-growth brands often face a dangerous financing gap: needing capital faster than traditional lenders are willing to provide it. This article examines how one consumer brand moved away from costly merchant cash advances and toward a structured asset-based lending solution that better supported growth, preserved equity, and created a path to bankability.

Our “Anatomy of a Deal” case studies offer an inside view of how secured finance professionals approach complex situations and develop solutions tailored to each borrower’s needs.  Some of the most compelling deals arise when a great business simply finds itself without the right capital partner. That was precisely the situation when Altriarch was introduced to a West Coast-based manufacturer with more than 50 years of operating history, industry-leading products, and a capital base in need of a restructure.

For law students and summer associates interested in finance, secured transactions or commercial law, secured finance offers a practical, business-focused career path at the center of how companies obtain working capital.

For law students and summer associates interested in finance, secured transactions or commercial law, a career as a commercial finance attorney can offer a unique blend of legal analysis, business strategy and deal-making. One of the most specialized areas within commercial finance is representing lenders in asset-based lending (ABL) and factoring transactions

For students and early-career professionals exploring finance or accounting careers, asset-based lending field examination offers a path that is hands-on, analytical and surprisingly varied.

Asset-based lending (ABL) is built on the premise that if a borrower is unable to repay its loan, the cash conversion of the collateral is there. But in a cyber incident, collateral may remain “there” but visibility to the lender’s collateral and its quality disappears. If a borrower can’t ship, can’t invoice, or can’t produce a trustworthy borrowing base for even a few days, collateral proceeds and AR/inventory mix will change significantly, with the resultant impact on the borrowing base leaving the Lender in the dark as to their collateral vis-à-vis their loan exposure.

In this insightful Q&A, we feature three remarkable women credit professionals who have made significant strides in their careers. Betty Hernandez, executive vice president/chief credit officer at SLR Business Credit; Mignon Winston, vice president/underwriting team leader at Great Rock Capital, and Hailee Ledford, vice president of client relations at AmeriFactors, share their experiences, challenges, and successes.

PNC Bank, National Association, announced the closing of a $90 million senior secured credit facility for Iconex LLC (Iconex), a portfolio company of Greenwich, CT-based Atlas Holdings. PNC’s facility was provided in conjunction with a $67.5 million term loan and a $30 million delayed draw term loan provided by Cerberus Business Finance.

The success of a lending transaction can depend on banking processes outside the lender's control. That relationship deserves a closer look.

When a lender commits to a closing timeline, that commitment carries weight. Borrowers make plans around it. Referral partners expect follow-through. And behind the scenes, lending teams work to make sure everything comes together as expected.

But even the most carefully managed transaction can run into a problem that sits largely outside the lender's control.

Deal Table Shows Increased Transaction Activity, Broad Industry Demand and Continued Strength Among Alternative Capital Providers

The third quarter of 2026 saw a notable increase in reported secured finance activity, with 279 transactions recorded in SFNet's Secured Finance Deal Table, compared with 224 in the second quarter. The 24.6% increase reflects continued demand for asset-based lending, factoring and specialty finance solutions across a broad range of industries.

Eileen Kowalski, MBA, is SVP and national recurring field exam manager at PNC Business Credit and the recipient of the SFNet's Harry H. Chen Instructor of the Year Award, which will be presented at SFNet's Annual Convention in Chicago next month. She is a 35-plus year veteran of commercial finance and asset-based lending. Eileen is integral to PNCBC’s Field Exam training program. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is now refunding tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court ruled unlawful. Most of the commentary treats this as good news for importers. For asset-based lenders, it raises a different question, one that belongs in due diligence: Who is actually entitled to the money?

SFNet’s Mid-Year Factoring Survey shows accelerating volume, expanding funds in use and remarkably stable credit performance as inflation, tariffs and higher financing costs reinforce factoring’s role in the working-capital market.

SFNet’s Q2 2026 Asset-Based Lending Survey shows a sharp rebound in new commitments, improving bank credit performance and renewed optimism about demand—even as inflation, higher rates and geopolitical uncertainty complicate the outlook.

Debt Capital Advisors are democratizing ABL like Amazon did to retail.