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TSL Feature Articles

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.

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Previous TSL Articles

Aftermath

Aftermath means the consequences or aftereffects of a significant unpleasant event, like Covid-19. The financial system is going to experience this first-hand. No firm, whether it be bank or non-bank, will be left unscathed. The author is purposely writing this article now in order to predict that one of the many untold stories will be that the nation’s biggest banks were expecting the unexpected as it pertains to their middle-market C&I and ABL portfolios. Clearly, no bank in the country could have imagined a complete shutdown based on a virus, but what they could and did imagine was a severe depression irrespective of the cause. Not only were they expecting, but they were prepared in unexpected ways. The same cannot be said for certain community and regional banks and BDCs, which might not have had the resources, scale or wherewithal to prepare.
CARES Act Amendment Summary

On Tuesday, April 21, the Senate passed an amendment to the CARES Act that, among other things, would amend certain provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), economic injury disaster loans, and emergency grants. The amendment is expected to pass the House later this week and the president has indicated he would sign it. In some ways, the amendment is as notable for some of the things it did not do – it did not create eligibility for financial services firms including community banks and secured lenders to borrow PPP loans, and it did not include rumored restrictions on larger borrower’s access to PPP – as it is for what it did do (increase funding and create a set-aside of PPP guarantees for PPP loans made by certain small and community development lenders).
Tips For Working From Home

New to working from home? Check out a few quick tips from ENGS Commercial Finance to help transition from working in-office to working at home.
Get to (Really) Know Rob Meyers

The following interview is a transcript from SFNet YoPro Committee member Avi Levine interviewing Rob Meyers, president, CCO & managing member of Republic Business Credit, in April 2020. Rob previously served as chair of SFNet's National Young Professionals Committee and spearheaded the YoPro Annual Leadership Summit, now in its third year. We hope you enjoy getting to know the industry’s young professionals.
Meet YoPro Andrew Bertolina

The following interview is a transcript from SFNet YoPro Committee member Matt Gillman, interviewing Andrew Bertolina of Finvoice in late 2019. We hope you enjoy getting to know the industry’s young professionals.
Transformational Change and Crisis Costs Weigh Heavily on Both Sides in Stressed and Distressed Retail/Supplier Relationships

Ben Nortman and Ian Fredericks of ReStore Capital examine the financial burden that consumer mandated transformation and the current crisis are imposing on both retailers and their suppliers, and how innovative financial solutions can be leveraged by both to help ensure successful outcomes in stressed and distressed environments.
Wingspire Capital Provides $40.0 Million Senior Secured Loan to Save-A-Lot

Wingspire Capital Holdings (“Wingspire”) today announced that it has provided a $40.0 million senior secured loan to Moran Foods, LLC d/b/a Save-A-Lot. (“Sav-A-Lot”). Wingspire’s loan was part of a $150.0 million revolving line of credit among a group of three lenders. Loan proceeds were used to repay existing debt and support Save-A-Lot’s operations and acceleration of its transformation plan.
New UK Insolvency Legislation and its Potential Impact on the Asset-Based Lending Industry: The New Moratorium

Richard Hawkins, CEO of Atlantic RMS, considers the implications of the UK government's latest announcement and its impact on asset-based lending to UK business.
CARES Act Frequently Asked Questions

On March 27, 2020, Congress approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The CARES Act includes extensive provisions to address the current public health crisis, including, among other things, $349 billion of commitments for general business loans under Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) through June 30, 2020 under Title I of the CARES Act, titled “Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act,” which sets out the terms for the “Paycheck Protection Program.”

The Paycheck Protection Program has been of particular interest to members of Secured Finance Network because it provides potential interim financing for small businesses that are typical borrowers from many member lenders.

Following up on the description in the articles above here are answers to some frequently asked questions from members of the Secured Finance Network.
SFNet’s Annual & Q4 Asset-Based Lending Surveys Reflect Continuing Growth

In perhaps the last snapshot of the secured finance industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fourth quarter and annual SFNet Asset-Based Lending Surveys reflect that banks and independent lenders reported that asset-based lending to U.S. businesses increased steadily and credit quality remained strong. However, the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic that began in the first quarter of 2020 is having an unprecedented impact on financial markets worldwide.