TSL Feature Articles
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Ally and Affinity Groups: Helping to Bring Our True Selves to Work
Industry ally and affinity group members and leaders share their stories and discuss how their organization’s groups began and their benefits.
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2024 Threats to Manufacturing and Industrial Businesses – Lenders Beware
How will reduced consumer spending and increased leverage cost stress manufacturing & industrial companies in the year ahead? -
Perfection of Security Interests in Electronic Bills of Lading Under the UCC
Feb 21, 2024In an increasingly paperless world, electronic bills of lading are garnering attention as an industry choice for cross-border commercial and shipping transactions. This article provides an overview of the legal framework prescribed by Articles 7 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code for a secured lender seeking to perfect its security interest in electronic bills of lading.
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Gauging Credit Risk for 2024
Feb 8, 2024The credit risk panel at SFNet’s 79th Annual Convention focused on challenges such as consumer headwinds, the higher cost of capital, looming refinancing deadlines, and the prospect of more downgrades, bankruptcies and defaults. Overall, though, panelists were optimistic about credit appetite and the ability to negotiate risk through tighter deal structures and more in-depth borrower and sector analytics. -
Interview With Holland & Knight ABL Team Members
Feb 5, 2024TSL’s editor-in-chief sat down with key members of Holland & Knight’s ABL team, including Wade M. Kennedy, partner and co-lead of the Asset-Based Lending Team; Christopher S. Dillon, partner and co-lead of the Asset-Based Lending Team; Hamid Namazie, financial
services partner; Yoojin Lee, financial services partner; and Mark Spitzer, financial services partner. Here, they discuss H&K’s strengthening of its finance practice, how they got their start in this specialty and the threats facing lenders in 2024. -
Secured Finance Executives Predicting Modest Growth in 2024
Jan 22, 2024Despite economic headwinds and higher costs of borrowing, secured lenders are expecting a profitable year ahead -
The Saga of Serta: The Next Chapter—Subordination of “Non-Participating” Lenders Upheld by Bankruptcy Court
Dec 18, 2023“Liability Management Transactions” continue to grab headlines. Companies in distress are turning to the out-of-court restructuring of their debt in ways that leave lenders who made loans on the basis of a senior secured position either with certain assets no longer available as collateral pursuant to a “drop down financing” or subordinate to new tranches of debt pursuant to an “uptiering transaction.” This article takes a look at the arguments being made in some of the litigation that has often followed on such uptiering transactions and in particular the June 2023 decision of the Bankruptcy Court in the Serta case. -
Dealing with the Volatility of Commodities
Dec 11, 2023Commodity producers face volatile market swings due to factors such as macroeconomics and supply chain stability, creating risks for secured lenders. Understanding each commodity’s nuances, risk-management strategies, and regulatory considerations is crucial. To navigate these challenges, secured lenders must maintain strong industry knowledge, adapt lending structures, collaborate with third parties, and balance risk and return for their clients.
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Interview with SFNet’s New President Barry Bobrow
Nov 30, 2023Barry Bobrow is a managing director and head of credit markets for Regions Business Capital. He is a widely respected leader in middle-market leveraged finance and asset-based lending. He has spent the past 38 years working in banking, most of it as a debt capital markets professional, primarily in leveraged lending and supply chain finance. Bobrow is the creator and chairman of the Asset Based Capital Conference (ABCC), an SFNet sponsored conference focusing on the middle-market leveraged and asset-based markets, now in its 16th year. Here, Bobrow discusses his career trajectory, his outlook for the industry and his goals for SFNet in 2024. -
Seeking Growth, Small-Business Owners Can Tap a Variety of Loan Options
Nov 20, 2023What are the credit needs and opportunities for today’s small-business owners? This article explores results from Pathward’s new survey. -
Floating Charges: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly - The Evolution of the Floating Charge
Nov 16, 2023The capacity for a lender to take effective security over a changing pool of assets is of critical importance to the asset-based lending market. -
The Story of LaSalle Business Credit
Nov 13, 2023In this feature series, Charlie Perer sits with the key entrepreneurs and executives who have built leading commercial finance companies. This feature is about LaSalle Business Credit, told by some of the key executives who played seminal roles in the 1990s. The core team at LaSalle went on to be leaders throughout the entire commercial finance industry. Here to tell the story are Mike Sharkey, Marty Battaglia, Bob Corsentino and Bruce Sprenger. -
TLC For Your Dutch Collateral: Some Practical Considerations
Nov 9, 2023When a U.S. lawyer and a Dutch lawyer talk about anti-assignment clauses, each might misconstrue what the other is talking about. This is caused by differences in law. -
Interview with Courtney Jeans, Head of Regions Business Capital
Nov 7, 2023Courtney Jeans is executive managing director and head of Regions Business Capital. Jeans joined Regions Business Capital in January 2022. With nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, his career has focused on lending activities within the middle-market and large corporate sectors in both banking and specialty finance, where he has held positions in business development, portfolio management and risk management. -
Lending on Government Receivables and Contracts
Nov 2, 2023Government contractors’ performance and lending requirements can change with the slightest turn due to financial regulations, acts of nature and geopolitical occurrences. Knowing you are secure in lending to, or financing, government contractors starts here.
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Transportation Factoring in a Freight Recession
Oct 30, 2023Factoring for trucking companies and brokerages has skyrocketed in the last 10 years. An estimate on factoring company purchases is $90 billion annually. There are about 250,000 active for-hire carriers with 96 percent having six trucks or less. Factoring remains a necessary and viable tool for smaller carriers who have limited access to bank lines of credit or asset-based lenders. The transportation factoring company fills this void through the built-in elasticity of its offering – helping companies expand when the transportation industry is booming and sustain business when the industry is down. -
The State of Retail: How Did We Get Here and What’s on the Horizon?
Oct 25, 2023While retail data reported at the mid-summer mark pointed to a strong labor market, steady consumer spending in certain categories and retail sales up from last year for several straight months, the data only tells one side of the story. The numbers are merely inching forward, as growth across many sectors has been sluggish, if not altogether fl at. This year has unexpectedly been a mixed bag for the retail and credit market, and with continued volatility and an overall lackluster economic forecast, businesses and lenders must be prepared for any scenario.
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Staffing: An Industry with Many Facets
Oct 23, 2023In May of 2022, when the author became CEO of Access Capital, the Company already had a long history of being a leading non-bank lender to the staffing industry. In this article, written with the help of Raphael Torres, head of business development, and Jessica Sanchez, director of marketing, Terry Keating will share some thoughts about the industry that he has learned through his journey over the past 18 months. -
Navigating the Future: Exploring Opportunities in Healthcare Asset-Based Lending
Oct 17, 2023Healthcare is an industry that is constantly changing. Lenders wishing to lend into the space need to develop expertise pertaining to the unique financial needs and challenges of the sector. This article explores the opportunities to lend into this space. -
A Framework For Championing Securitization in Africa to Mobilize Capital and Drive Economic Development
Oct 12, 2023The potential of securitization to meet a range of financing needs in African markets is yet to be fully realized.
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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Key Takeaways from SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference
Feb 27, 2025SFNet's Asset-Based Capital Conference was held February 11-12, 2025, at the Wynn in Las Vegas, NV. Now in its 17th year, it is the premier event for those in the middle-market leveraged finance and asset-based finance world. Attendees walked away with up-to-date market insights from industry leaders, with panels ranging from the current state of the economy and industry, while benefitting from networking opportunities with key decision makers. Here, conference attendee Cheryl Mayo of Haversine Funding shares some of the key conference takeaways.
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Top Gun: Maverick and a New Generation of Lenders
Feb 24, 2025There is a generational change going on in the BDO role with more NextGen BDOs getting promoted and doing the job in their own way while at the same time still learning from the “Maverick” BDOs who pioneered the role.
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Interview with Vincent Roldan, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Feb 24, 2025Vincent J. Roldan is a Partner in Mandelbaum Barrett PC's Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights, and Banking and Financial Services groups. He has represented parties in interest in various aspects of bankruptcy proceedings and out of court workouts across the U.S. Here we spotlight Vincent as a member of SFNet's Inclusiveness Committee.
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President Trump's Executive Orders Impact Financial Regulation and the Broader Economy
Feb 20, 2025President Trump's recent executive orders are reshaping the landscape for financial services through significant changes to financial regulation, trade policy, and digital assets. At SFNet's Asset-Based Capital Conference in Las Vegas last week, industry leaders and policy experts gathered to analyze these changes and their implications for the lending market. -
Interview with Sameer Kapoor, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Jan 27, 2025Sameer Kapoor is a seasoned Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditor Rights partner at Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP, who provides legal support and advice to clients in defaulted loan workouts, various types of creditors’ rights litigation matters, and bankruptcy cases. Sameer’s client-first approach focuses on providing practical legal advice that efficiently and effectively mitigates the various types of risk faced by lenders.
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Jennifer Wallace, Chair of SFNet’s 40 Under 40 Awards, Encourages Members to Nominate Rising Stars
Jan 13, 2025Nominations for the 2025 SFNet 40 Under 40 Awards are open until Feb. 1. The Awards celebrate the secured finance industry’s rising stars. The SFNet 40 Under 40 Awards Committee Chair is Jennifer Wallace, loan portfolio manager, Wells Fargo Commercial Capital – Lender Finance. Here, we speak with Jennifer who shares her insights as a former winner on why SFNet members should consider nominating a rising star this year.
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Interview with Kristin Maxwell, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Jan 7, 2025Throughout her career, Kristin has consulted with working capital providers to identify and resolve business challenges by leveraging technology. At Wells Fargo, her areas of focus include legacy application modernization, process improvement, automation, and simplifying tech stacks.
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Deal Activity Slows for Asset-Based Lending, but Portfolio Performance Stays Strong
Dec 23, 2024
Secured Finance Network posts Q3 survey results from bank and non-bank lenders
Data from the Secured Finance Network revealed generally mixed results in the asset-based lending market for the third quarter, with deal activity receding in response to fewer new client commitments, and the portfolio performance index improving for both non-banks and banks against already historically strong levels. -
Exploring the Future of Supply Chain Finance: Insights from SFNet's Inaugural Conference
Dec 23, 2024
Tariffs, digitization, trade policy among top themes
Held on December 3, 2024 at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in New York, NY, this inaugural conference aimed to help asset-based lenders stay informed about industry developments, improve their lending practices, and identify opportunities for growth. -
Navigating 2025: SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference Returns to Las Vegas with Premier Insights and Networking
Dec 19, 2024SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference returns to the Encore at the Wynn in Las Vegas February 11-12, 2025. Attendees will hear up-to-date market insights from industry leaders, thought-provoking discussions around the economy and industry dynamics, and networking opportunities with key decision makers.
In This Section
The Secured Lender
SFNet's 40 Under 40 Awrds Issue