TSL Feature Articles

Michael D. Sharkey is the president of Fifth Third Business Capital. He oversees a nationwide market with regional offices across the United States and Canada. Sharkey is past president and chairman of Secured Finance Network.  He is also past president of the American Brain Tumor Association. Sharkey is a graduate of Rutgers University and J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Here he discusses his long career, the outlook for the industry and Fifth Third’s acquisition of MB.

As with any industry, lending to the business aviation sector comes with its own set of risks. Shelley Svoren of First Republic Bank gives readers the insider’s tips on this industry.

Tim Anderson of Hilco Valuation Services discusses Omnichannel appraisals, which are now more common than traditional brick-and-mortar appraisals.  

Capital One executives discuss how innovation in the food & beverage sector are making it an industry lenders don’t want to ignore.

A Conway MacKenzie executive provides an overview of the construction industry, including its unique cycles. Lending into the construction sector can prove to be a lucrative decision if extensive due diligence is conducted deep into a company’s financials. There are a wide range of factors and potential pitfalls to consider, understand and navigate properly.

Money-laundering statutes, restrictive banking regulations and the stigma surrounding the cannabis industry have caused established banks and well-known independent secured lenders to stay clear, but the possibility of new regulations may ease their fears.

John DePledge, head of Asset Based Lending at Bank Leumi USA, discusses his tenure as SFNet president and COVID’s impact on plans.

This is a new feature providing advice from WISF members to young professionals on a specific topic.

Gen Merritt-Parikh is the president of Haversine Funding, a leading financing provider to specialty finance companies, including asset-based lenders, factors, purchase order, equipment and inventory lenders. With more than 25 years of experience in commercial finance, she joined Haversine Funding in August 2020, responsible for origination, underwriting, investment analysis and management and asset allocation strategy for Haversine Funding.

In 2018, as president of Allied Affiliated Funding, she led the company to a successful sale through a nationally chartered bank where she continued to manage that line of business for the bank. Merritt-Parikh holds a bachelor of arts degree in business and economics from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Financial analysis is a cornerstone for any credit administration function.  Each loan officer must know his or her borrowers and thorough financial analysis is the best way to start.

The goal of financial analysis is to link business events to changes in the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow to explain the company’s performance during the period under analysis.  Without this linkage you end up with “elevator analysis” (sales are up, AR is up, EBITDA is down, etc.) and no meaningful understanding of the company’s performance.

Where do you start?  EBITDA is often a starting point for many people.  Why?  It is a standard measure of performance in the banking and finance industry.  EBITDA is a measure of the profitability generated by a business before interest expense, tax expense and depreciation and amortization expense.  While this gives the analyst a place to start and some ability to compare to comparable companies, EBITDA should not be viewed as a proxy for cash generation ability. 

As the Secured Finance Network and its members have examined the Main Street Lending Program, there have been two aspects of the program in particular that have been identified as impacting on the utility of the program for borrowers from asset-based lenders. 

Both points, along with some others, have been raised in letters from the Secured Finance Network to the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.  And the Secured Finance Network has followed up with specific questions to Treasury arising from the “Main Street Lending Program Frequently Asked Questions” published on July 31, 2020 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the “FAQs”) in understanding what is permitted under the Program that could significantly impact how it may be used with an asset-based facility.

SFNet’s fourth annual Women in Secured Finance Conference attracted over 300 attendees for two days of inspiring (virtual) sessions featuring senior executives who shared their perspectives on leadership and communications while heading teams virtually and managing changes wrought by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The consensus: Workers will not be returning to how it was even after a viable vaccine for the COVID-19 virus becomes available. Many of the speakers – women in top management, who are accustomed to being in the office, travelling, and meeting face-to-face with teams and clients—spoke about remote work challenges. They also offered creative ideas to ensure employees feel embraced during this challenging time.

The secured finance industry, just like so many others, has demanded that remote work become the “norm.” Will this change better enable the industry to attract and retain top talent?

Gibraltar prides itself on its ability to provide companies and their private equity sponsors with flexible financing and maximum liquidity, based on our ability to understand each business’ special situation. This enabled us recently to provide Texas-based Easy Gardener Products, Inc, a $20 million credit facility to help with a restructuring.

Easy Gardener designs, manufactures, and sells a broad range of consumer lawn and garden products. It sells its products under several well-known patented and trademark brands such as WeedBlock, Jobe's, Emerald Edge, Landmaster, Ross, and Jobe’s Organics. Its customer base includes longstanding relationships over a 20- to 30-year period with a robust network of large national home improvement and mass merchant retailers as well as local hardware stores and independent garden centers and nurseries.

Tiffany Dufu will be a Keynote Speaker at SFNet’s virtual Women in Secured Finance conference July 29-30. For more information or to register, please click here. 

Tiffany Dufu is founder and CEO of The Cru. Their algorithm matches circles of women who collaborate to meet their personal and professional goals. She’s also the author of the bestselling book Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less. According to the foreword contributor Gloria Steinem, Drop the Ball is “important, path-breaking, intimate and brave."

Named to Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany has raised nearly $20 million toward the cause of women and girls. She was a launch team member to Lean In and was Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, one of the fastest growing millennial professional networks. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, as a Major Gifts Officer at Simmons University, and as Associate Director of Development at Seattle Girls’ School.