TSL Feature Articles
-
Reaching the Top: C-Suite Women in Secured Finance Roundtable
What does it take to break the proverbial glass ceiling in secured finance? What does the journey to the “top” look like for women in financial services? We interviewed four C-Suite women and here is what they had to say. The women we spoke with are Meredith Carter, president and CEO, Context Business Lending; Miin Chen, COO, Siena Lending Group; Deborah Monosson, president & CEO, Boston Financial & Equity Corporation; and Jennifer Yount, partner, Paul Hastings LLP.
-
Women Leaders Talk About Advancing in the Ranks
Secured Finance executives and an executive recruiter discuss how the industry can attract and retain more women.
-
Interview with Jennifer Palmer
In January, Gerber Finance announced the completion of its CEO succession strategy, naming longtime president Jennifer Palmer as CEO with Founder Gerald Joseph transitioning to his new role as strategic advisor and chairman of the board.
-
Innovation is Key to Survival for Factors
The CEO of TBS Factoring discusses the importance of innovation in factoring and how she applies the lessons of the past to her current role.
-
Interview with Ryan Jaskiewicz of 12five Capital, LLC
Ryan Jaskiewicz is CEO of 12five Capital, LLC. He started 12five Capital in early 2006 at the age of 23. Jaskiewicz attended University of Illinois at Chicago where he received a bachelor of arts in political science.
-
CARES Act Paycheck Protection Loan Program: From the Secured Lender Perspective
Editor's Note: SFNet’s Advocacy Committee is prioritizing initiatives to support our bank, non-bank and service provider constituents. A key component of this is analyzing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was enacted on March 27, for specific opportunities to address the needs of our members and borrowers across asset classes and industries, as the focus now turns to implementation.
-
Success By Lenders Working Together
Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get.” Partnering with other lenders can be similar. You don’t know what you are going to get if you jump into partnerships without doing your due diligence and establishing alliances with the best partners.
-
Interagency Guidance for Financial Institutions on Coronavirus Disease-Related Loan Modifications
On Sunday night, March 22, 2020, the federal banking agencies (OCC, FDIC, NCUA, Federal Reserve), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the State Conference of Bank Supervisors issued an Interagency Statement on Loan Modifications and Reporting for Financial Institutions Working with Customers Affected by the Coronavirus.
-
Top 5 Invoice Finance Frauds
Aaron Hughes looks at some of the ways directors might misuse their invoice finance facilities and how lenders can stem any potential losses.
-
Exploring Forbearance Issues in the Context of COVID-19
The lightning-fast spread of COVID-19 around the world has quickly transformed our commercial and financial outlook, ending one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history and throwing future prosperity into doubt. As conditions deteriorate from here, the likelihood that lenders will need to consider a forbearance is high, and as such, now is a good time to identify at-risk credit facilities and perform any necessary due diligence.
-
What a Lender Needs to Know: Key Loan Document Terms in a Time of Crisis
As circumstances are moving rapidly, companies and their lenders are dealing with unprecedented times. While companies try to determine the full impact of the current economic tailspin on their businesses, lenders are looking to understand their risks and how they can respond to them.
The credit agreement sets out the rules of the road for the relationship between a company and its lenders. In the list of credit agreement provisions set out below we attempt to provide a map for the secured lender for navigating those rules, anticipating where there may be bumps or wrong turns and providing some guidance for where a lender may go in the credit agreement to determine its path when confronted with a borrower in distress.
-
What a Lender Needs to Know: Key Loan Document Terms in a Time of Crisis
As circumstances are moving rapidly, companies and their lenders are dealing with unprecedented times. While companies try to determine the full impact of the current economic tailspin on their businesses, lenders are looking to understand their risks and how they can respond to them.
The credit agreement sets out the rules of the road for the relationship between a company and its lenders. In the list of credit agreement provisions set out below we attempt to provide a map for the secured lender for navigating those rules, anticipating where there may be bumps or wrong turns and providing some guidance for where a lender may go in the credit agreement to determine its path when confronted with a borrower in distress.
-
Will the Coronavirus impact your borrowers?
Do not underestimate the impact of the Coronavirus on a company’s Q1 and Q2 2020 financial results. The supply chain issues are unknown, the potential economic slowdown is unknown, and the length of time the impact will be felt is unknown.
This will certainly be a standard excuse for performance weakness that will be heard over the next year. Be prepared!
As a lender, which borrowers do you consider for impact, and what do you do to stay ahead of the problem?
-
Lender Alert: Commercial Finance Disclosure Legislation In New York State Merits Watching
If passed, proposed New York State Senate Bill S5470 (“the Bill”) would impose a disclosure requirement upon certain New York commercial lenders. This proposal follows a trend exemplified most notably in California, which amended the California Financing Law to require licensed commercial lenders and brokers to issue new disclosures to commercial borrowers in that state, including loans made via an internet platform.
The required disclosures of the Bill approximate those in the loan estimate form issued to home buyers by residential mortgage lenders under the federal Truth in Lending Act. The Bill has several exceptions, leaving much of the commercial lending community unaffected and placing substantial regulatory burdens on a narrow remaining segment
-
Vernon Francois: Prestige Capital Supports Entrepreneur’s Partnership with Sally Beauty
Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.
All that practice paid off. When he was just Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.
-
Your Client’s Cybersecurity Threat Is Your Threat Too
The specter of cybercrime haunts every industry, but none more so than financial services. If there is considerable money involved or sensitive client data to steal, then there is certainly some cybercriminal looking for a financial firm to target. As secured lenders step up their efforts to secure their own systems and data, there is a growing understanding of the complexity of that task. Asset-based lenders and factors are increasingly aware that their cybersecurity procedures must be ongoing and dynamic to thwart a network intrusion and to quickly shut down and mitigate a hack if it does happen.
-
Isn’t That What it Says? --Potential Perils of Incorporation by Reference in Finance Transactions
The author discusses the potential perils of improper use of “incorporation by reference” in commercial lending transactions, as well as potential strategies for reducing potential incorporation by reference hazards.
-
Syndicated ABL Volume up in 2019, Deal Count Down
Refinitiv’s director of analytics shares with readers the latest data surrounding the syndicated market.
-
SFNet Education Focus 20/20 Dynamic Educational Content is Key for Members
As the Secured Finance Network celebrates its 75th anniversary, its commitment to the education of its membership remains tantamount to the organization. Part of that commitment is making sure that secured lenders of all stripes are provided with the essential tools, training, and best practices to ensure their professional success.
-
Interview with McGuire Woods’ Hamid Namazie
Hamid Namazie is managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Los Angeles - Downtown office. He concentrates his practice on representing a wide range of clients, including banks, institutional lenders and commercial finance companies, providing asset-based loans.
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
-
What Are the Top Cybersecurity Concerns for 2022?
Jul 18, 2022
With the second half of 2022 underway, it is a good time to evaluate cybersecurity issues and concerns. The cybersecurity front continues to be an area of significant risk for businesses. In this article we will explore recent trends, and specific industries at more risk of attack. For a perspective on the dollar impact, the largest payment in 2021 was a $40 million payment made by an insurance company. For a perspective on number of attacks, there is a cyber-attack every 11 seconds.
The National Cyber Security Alliance estimated that 60% of small businesses fail within six months of an attack.
-
Mentoring or “Holding the door for those entering behind you”
Unless you’re the most junior person in your work environment, everyone should mentor their less-experienced team members. Helping them learn should be as natural an effort as holding the door for those entering a room behind you. These efforts will create experienced individuals with broad-based perspectives on how to approach their responsibilities within the secured lending industry. Leaders within SFNet member organizations generally agree there is a lack of “bench strength” in the secured lending industry. Greater preponderance of mentoring would tie junior people more to their organizations and to the industry as a whole.
-
The Secured Finance Foundation: Helping to Advance the Future of Secured Finance
Sep 20, 2022The Secured Finance Foundation’s Corporate Giving Campaign, created to help prepare the next generation of leaders, provide essential data that drives smart business decisions, and invest in the communities of which our members are a part, will conclude on September 30.
As the secured finance industry continually grows and evolves, it takes knowledge, effort, and financial support for the Secured Finance Foundation (SFFound) to keep up with these changes and fulfill its mission. The Secured Finance Foundation encourages, facilitates, and supports education, innovation, and charitable works for the betterment of organizations and professionals who deliver and enable secured finance— and for the communities of which they are a part. Since it was founded 31 years ago, the Foundation has raised approximately $9.5 million to date. -
Six Actions Your Retail Clients Can Take Now to Counter Economic Volatility
May 18, 2022
After historic GDP growth and retail sales in 2021, are the days of unprecedented growth over for your retail clients? The short answer: It’s complicated.
If the last two years have shown us anything, it is that uncertainty is the new normal. When COVID shut down the economy in March 2020, the impact on the retail sector was profound. In some parts of the country, brick and mortar stores were closed for up to 90 days and in-person sales ground to a halt for all but the most essential items.
-
The Art and Science of Loaning Against Trademarks
May 16, 2022Trademarks are one of the fastest-growing collateral categories in the ABL sector—due in no small part to the ease with which owners of properly supported brands can sell their products via multiple channels, including e-commerce, m-commerce, wholesale distribution, and retail stores. On the consumer side, younger generations are driving much of the e-commerce and m-commerce demand. They have grown up absorbing branded content on Tik-Tok and Instagram and have also discovered the convenience of making brick-and-mortar returns.
-
Bankruptcy & Restructuring - Where are we Now? Update 2022
May 9, 2022The last two years have been a roller coaster for businesses. The early pandemic lockdowns initially wreaked havoc on small businesses; and then we saw what some consider to be a market overcorrection. Relief came in the form of PPP loans, Main Street Lending, and various other subsidies and programs. We look to the data – year over year commercial bankruptcy filings are down 31% and Chapter 11 filings are down 48%. Comparing 2021 to 2019, commercial bankruptcy filings are down 31% and Chapter 11 filings are down 33%.
-
Next Frontier in Lending: High Net-Worth Lending
May 2, 2022Innovation in high net-worth lending is primed to be a new frontier in credit. Rarely do opportunities exist to make waves in lending, but this is one. Banks and wire houses are conservative and working on traditional lending models that limit borrower options for untapped equity in multiple forms of assets. There is also a wall between consumer and business lending units so most banks cannot take a holistic approach to a business owner’s business and personal assets. Several groups working together can, but this takes time, adds complexity and still has its limitations in a regulatory and traditional banking environment. Coincidentally, both commercial lenders and wealth managers are starting to converge on this space and each other’s turf by changing their offerings.
-
SFNet's International Lending Conference Returns to London May 23-25, 2022
Apr 28, 2022
SFNet's International Lending Conference will be held in person May 23 to 25, 2022 at DLA Piper Offices in London, UK. The Conference is geared towards those active in the international lending space, who need a clear understanding of the current global landscape, what may be on the horizon, and what it all means for your business. Some of the most interesting players on the international lending scene will gather for discussions and insights into what lies ahead.
“After two years, we are very excited to get back together in person with our favorite colleagues in the world of international lending—to catch up and to talk about new opportunities,” said David Morse, partner, Otterbourg P.C. “This is a conference where you always learn something new and pick up some interesting bit of information that helps you in thinking about your cross-border deals. The panels this year run the gamut from high-level reviews of market issues from some of the most-informed and thoughtful people in the industry to the nuts and bolts, practical issues of making secured cross-border loans work.”
-
U.S. Bank’s Stampfel and Rubin Continue to Build Momentum, Deliver Innovative Asset-based Financing
Apr 14, 2022U.S. Bank announced it hired Daniel Stampfel and Mitch Rubin as senior vice presidents of its asset-based finance division. The hires are part of a strategy for the broader U.S. Bank commercial banking team to continue its expansion in Texas and across the country to better serve middle-market clients.
Here we sit with Daniel, Mitch and David Slavik, SVP, national sales director – middle market, U.S. Bank Asset Based Finance, to discuss expansion in New York and Texas, goals for the rest of the year, and industry trends and predictions. -
Cybersecurity: Evaluating and Mitigating Borrowers' Risk to Cyber Breaches
Mar 28, 2022
On March 18, SFNet hosted a Webinar, “Cybersecurity: Evaluating and Mitigating Borrowers' Risk to Cyber Breaches”. It discussed current trends in cyber threats to commerce and the potential impact to borrowers, and the steps lenders and borrowers can take to guard against and mitigate and recovery from cyber-attacks or data breaches. Panelists focused on due diligence steps lenders should consider in assessing risk and the steps they may need in their lending agreements.
Tina Capobianco, senior vice president, J D Factors served as moderator. Panelists included Thomas J. DeMayo, principal, Cybersecurity and Privacy Advisory, PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP; Steven Teppler, of counsel, Mandelbaum Barrett P.C. and Louis Natale, chief credit officer, White Oak Commercial Finance. PFK Clear Thinking and White Oak Commercial Finance sponsored the webinar.
In This Section
The Secured Lender
SFNet's The Women in Secured Finance Issue