TSL Feature Articles
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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.
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Field Examinations in 2022 and Beyond
Oct 5, 2022TSL’s editor-in-chief interviewed several field exam professionals as well as lenders to get an overview of what lenders should look for, the current challenges and the effects of the pandemic.
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PNC Business Credit’s DEI Initiatives
Sep 28, 2022After gathering information from various PNC program managers, Eileen Kowalski discusses the DEI initiatives of PNC Bank N.A. and more specifically those of PNC Business Credit.
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The Impact of Civil Law on the Growth and Debt Capital Accessibility of Southern European Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Sep 26, 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 tied for third place.
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 second place and first place winners will be published in the October and November issues of The Secured Lender, respectively.
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Rob Meyers of Republic Business Credit Discusses the Company’s DEI Initiatives
Sep 15, 2022Republic Business Credit is a nationally recognized commercial finance company supporting the working capital requirements of companies nationwide, including private equity and entrepreneurial businesses. Republic provides asset-based lending, ledgered lines of credit, traditional factoring, direct-to-consumer loans, and Fast AR Funding. Republic partners with its clients to provide up to $15 million in senior credit facilities to rapidly growing businesses, start-ups and companies experiencing recoverable distress. Republic was one of two companies that were highly aligned with their employees in the replies to SFNet’s DEI Survey.
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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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.
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SFNet Releases ABL Q2 and Factoring Mid-Year Reports
Sep 27, 2024
SFNet has published the results of both its Q2 ABL Survey as well as its Mid-Year Factoring Report. Participating lenders have access to additional data and detailed reporting. Contact your business unit leader or asavaser@sfnet.com to request a copy of your report
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Olympic Athletics and Lending, Private Equity and Investing Success – Not as Different as You Might Think!
Aug 21, 2024With the 2024 Olympics behind us, the next games are scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028. For those spectators enthralled with the world-class athleticism, success seems to be determined largely by medal count (and media coverage). As I enjoyed the games, I pondered how the lending, PE, and investing sectors are closer to the Olympic athletes than one may think.
The Secured Lender
SFNet's The Year Ahead Issue
