TSL Feature Articles
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Interview with Ian Fredericks, President - Hilco Merchant Resources – The Retail And Consumer Operating Company Within Hilco Global
Ian Fredericks joined Hilco Global in 2011 after working successfully as a distressed merger and acquisition and corporate restructuring attorney. Over the course of his career, Fredericks has negotiated and closed hundreds of transactions involving tens of billions of dollars. In 2017, he was a recipient of M&A Advisor’s Emerging Leaders award and in 2022 was named to the executive committee of the Secured Finance Network board of directors. -
The Story of Foothill Capital
In this new feature series, “The Story of,” Charlie Perer sits with the key entrepreneurs and executives who have built leading commercial finance companies to talk about the origins of their respective firms. The purpose of this series is to tell the story behind many of the most famous and dynamic firms of past, present and future. The first feature is about Foothill Capital, which, of course was acquired by Norwest in 1998 and later by Wells Fargo. The core team at Foothill went on to be leaders at Wells Fargo Capital Finance and throughout the entire commercial finance industry.
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In the Spotlight: Women-Dominated Teams in Secured Finance
Apr 3, 2023It’s no secret that, despite great progress in the last couple of decades, secured finance remains a male-dominated field. Here, we shine the spotlight on three unique SFNet members whose teams are made up of more women than men. -
It’s All About the People
There are few individuals more genuinely positive and upbeat than SFNet’s own Michele Ocejo. On her 30th anniversary of joining SFNet, I took the opportunity to sit down with our heralded but unassuming director of communications and discussed the importance of relationships, making an impact, and the joy she gets from sharing people’s stories.
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Taking a More Proactive Approach to Retention
Secured finance, much like the rest of financial services, is often a high-pressure industry, requiring long hours to resolve client concerns, handle due diligence, and scout for new prospects. Professionals in the field are commonly answering emails in the wee hours of the morning and late into the night. But the greying of the industry and attrition are causing secured finance executives to take a long, hard look at employee concerns, as well as DEI, recruitment, and retention initiatives. -
Interview with Gordon Brothers’ New CEO Norma Kuntz
Mar 20, 2023In December, Gordon Brothers announced that Norma Kuntz would be appointed CEO of the company, effective February 13, 2023. Ken Frieze and Michael Frieze will continue to serve the company as chairman and chairman emeritus, respectively.
Kuntz joined Gordon Brothers as its president and chief operating officer in June 2022 and quickly demonstrated her readiness to lead the firm. Prior to Gordon Brothers, she served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of global private equity at The Carlyle Group. Her nearly 25 years of financial services industry experience includes global roles within private equity, asset management, alternative investments and valuations, positioning her well to lead a multi-disciplinary global firm poised for growth.
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Crypto-Based Lending and the 2022 UCC Amendments
Feb 6, 2023In this article, the author revisits cryptocurrency-based lending and how the 2022 UCC amendments provide welcome clarity to lending transactions involving digital assets. -
Factors: Prepared for Uncertainty Ahead
Jan 30, 2023Factors discuss what surprised them in 2022, California’s disclosure laws, rising interest rates, the move from ABL to factoring and what they expect 2023 will bring.
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Three Keys to a Successful Workout
Given the relatively low levels of outstanding loan balances and the macro-economic environment over the past couple of years, the number of borrowers/loans that have ended up going into ‘workout’ have been few and far between. PKF Clear Thinking executives provide details on what is needed for a workout to succeed for both lender and borrower -
Interview with Bank of America’s Seth Benefield
In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Seth Benefield, head of Bank of America Business Capital and Asset-Based Financing, to hear his perspective on the state of the ABL market, challenges of running one of the biggest ABL groups, ABL as a product or business, leadership and competition, among other things. -
Trade Credit Insurance – More than Insurance
Dec 1, 2022The global trade credit market continues to grow with increased international business opportunities and carriers making trade credit more accessible to the market. You may be asking – what is trade credit insurance? Trade credit insurance (TCI) insures your accounts receivables against losses due to bankruptcy, unforeseen insolvency, or protracted default. But, trade credit insurance is more than just insurance. Once your A/R is insured, it is a secured asset, and can be used to leverage many ROIs.
Why do companies acquire a trade credit insurance policy? Trade credit can help build a healthy pipeline of new revenue, increase access to capital, prevent a catastrophic loss, and strengthen an organization’s balance sheet. Here are the top four motivating factors for trade credit Insurance.
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Workout Workshop: A Guide to Navigating Problem Loans
Nov 28, 2022
Many ABL professionals have little to no workout or bankruptcy experience thanks to the past ten years of relative calm. This article details the anatomy of an ABL workout and serves as a primer for many readers and a refresher course for more experienced lenders.
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The Single Group Facility: Simplifying Cross-Border Receivables Finance
Nov 21, 2022In November of 2021, SFNet announced its first Cross-Border Finance Essay Contest, sponsored by Goldberg Kohn Ltd. Members of SFNet’s International Finance and Development Committee judged the essay submissions on content, originality, clarity, structure and overall contribution to furthering and expanding understanding and discourse within the field of cross-border finance. This essay is the first-place essay.
The authors of the winning essays have been invited to participate on a panel at SFNet’s 78th Annual Convention in Austin, TX, Nov. 9-11. The third place essays were published in the September issue of TSL and the second place winner was published in the October issue. -
Nonbank Regional Asset-Based Lenders Provide an Overview of their Market
TSL’s editor-in-chief gathered the heads of several nonbank regional asset-based lenders to discuss the industry from their point of view, including the challenges and opportunities, effects of COVID and their predictions for the upcoming year.
The executives interviewed are Tom Cleveland, managing partner, Access Business Finance; Michael Fussell, president, Aegis Business Credit; J. Brad Leach, president & CEO, Lighthouse Financial Corp.; Rhett Rowe, CEO, Great Lakes Business Credit; and Patrick Trammell, founding member and president, Southeastern Commercial Finance. -
SFNet's 2022 Hall of Fame Profiles
Nov 10, 2022On the following pages, we honor the industry icons who have been inducted into the 2022 SFNet Hall of Fame. We all owe a debt of gratitude to these leaders. Although they represent the industry during various periods of time, they have all made critical contributions to secured finance and deserve our appreciation for making the industry and our association what it is today.
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Interview with Michael Scolaro, BMO Commercial Bank ABL
Nov 3, 2022As part of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Michael Scolaro, managing director and asset based group head for BMO Commercial Bank ABL, to hear his perspective on the state of the BL market, bank vs. non-bank competition, the future of ABL, executive development and competition, among other things. -
Talk of Wave of Borrower Defaults Overblown
Nov 1, 2022Will the long-predicted wave of defaults come to fruition? Key players in the industry provide their perspectives.
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Factoring 101
Factoring is an age-old form of financing providing companies with much-needed cash.
It takes money to make money, as any business owner knows. But many small businesses also know what it’s like to be turned down by a bank for a loan or line of credit, not get as much as they need, or simply not get the cash quickly enough to take advantage of an opportunity.
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Asset-Based Lending: A Primer
Oct 11, 2022Simply put, asset-based lending (ABL) is a way of lending money to companies. Such loans are made by commercial banks and by specialty finance companies, and loan sizes can range from several hundred thousand to many hundreds of millions of dollars. These loan proceeds are used to assist companies in high-growth, distressed, or sometimes even in start-up situations.
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Field Exam in Changing Times: Fundamentals and Best Practices
Oct 7, 2022Jan Tammen of PNC Business Credit discusses some of the lasting changes to the field exam industry brought on by the pandemic.
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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2025 Policy Outlook: Navigating Economic and Regulatory Shifts Under New Leadership
Dec 6, 2024Washington enters 2025 with a policy landscape set for significant realignment as the Trump administration returns to office. Slim Congressional margins and pressing deadlines will complicate efforts to advance legislation. Meanwhile, key appointments at financial regulatory agencies, including Treasury, the OCC, the CFPB and the SEC, and other agencies across the administration will guide the implementation of financial services policy and other domestic priorities. -
Yellowstone Settles With New York AG For $1 Billion
Dec 4, 2024On December 2, 2024, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James asked a state court to approve a settlement between the AG, Yellowstone Capital LLC (Yellowstone) and twenty-four related entities regarding a petition filed by the AG in March 2024.
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Lender Liability Management: DIP Financings and the Non-Ratable Roll-Up
Dec 4, 2024This Alert is not another Serta gripe. Rather, this Alert is about the exception to the developing Serta credit agreement language that excludes debtor-in-possession financing as one type of senior financing that does not require an opportunity to participate pro rata.
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SFNet’s DEI Committee Renamed to Inclusiveness Committee
Nov 12, 2024SFNet recently announced its DEI Committee has been renamed to the Inclusiveness Committee. The committee’s aim continues to be to understand the specific challenges and opportunities within our communities of interest, articulate the case for change and help implement strategies and tactics throughout SFNet.
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5 Key Strategies for Building a Successful Factoring or ABL Platform
Nov 7, 2024Building a factoring or asset-based lending (ABL) platform that maximizes value and attracts capital requires more than operational success. A solid foundation that positions the business for growth, efficiency, and sustainability is crucial. Whether you're looking to secure capital through banks, non-bank lenders, or investors, here are five essential strategies to build and grow a high-performing factoring or ABL business.
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Fueling Inclusive Growth: Jennifer Palmer on JPalmer Collective’s $72M Capital Raise and Vision for the Future
Oct 21, 2024On October 18, JPalmer Collective (JPC), an asset-based lending company committed to funding high-growth, women-led and natural products companies, announced a series of transactions raising $72 million in gross proceeds. The raise will accelerate JPC’s growth trajectory and fund new loans to JPC borrower clients.
Here we sit down with Jennifer Palmer, CEO and founder of JPalmer Collective, to learn more about the unique capital raise, which had a strategic combination of financing close simultaneously.
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Interview with Tiffani Bova, SFNet Convention Keynote Speaker
Oct 21, 2024Ranked for the last six years in the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Tiffani Bova is a thought leader who Forbes says “reshapes our perception of growth.” -
U.S. Middle Market Performance Shows Sustained Stability
Oct 11, 2024Middle market private companies in the Golub Capital Altman Index grew earnings by 8% during the first two months of the third quarter of 2024. Revenue grew 5% during the same period.
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A Conversation with Wells Fargo’s Managing Director of Supply Chain, Trade, and Channel Solutions
Oct 7, 2024Stephen Schwartz heads underwriting for the Supply Chain, Trade & Channel Solutions group covering Key Accounts Purchase, Supplier Finance, Accounts Receivable Securitization, International Factoring Commercial Services, Inventory Finance, Channel Finance and Equipment and Vendor Finance floor planning. Here, he discusses how companies are navigating supply chain challenges particularly in light of the U.S. port strikes. -
SFNet Announces Governance Boards Leadership
Oct 3, 2024The Secured Finance Network (SFNet) Member Directors have elected and the Executive Committee has approved the FY25 SFNet Management Committee and Executive Committee members. In addition, the Secured Finance Foundation (SFFound) Member Donors have elected and the SFFound Board has approved the FY25 SFFound Board and Officers.
The Secured Lender
SFNet's The Women in Secured Finance Issue
