TSL Feature Articles

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.

FTC Commercial Corporation was launched in 2002 with a strong focus on small and medium-size enterprise. Co-founder Ken Wengrod tapped into his experience, having worked in factoring and retail to create a company that understands the entire trade cycle of manufacturing and importing.

Q3 2019 results generally demonstrate the continuation of trends observed throughout 2019.  Year to date, we continue to have growth in the industry as a whole and credit quality remains solid.  There are a few notable deviations from trends observed throughout the year as we will see.

General economic conditions continue to be top of mind for the secured finance community, but it is interesting to note that we continue to see a divergence between Bank and Non-Bank Lenders with respect to the SFNet Confidence Index. As a reminder, starting in 2019, we have chosen to divide the ABL lender universe along Bank and Non-Bank lines, as opposed to our previous methodology of splitting up the ABL lender universe by portfolio size.

Joseph Nemia looks back at 2019 and discusses what the secured finance industry can expect to see in 2020.

A Demica senior director explains how trade receivable securitization programs can be used as a valuable alternative to other funding solutions, especially in cross-border or challenging credit environments.

At 33 years old, Shauna was diagnosed with breast cancer - a head-spinning diagnosis for anyone, but especially a new mother at 33 who considered herself fairly healthy. Then came the draining, life-sapping chemo that would save her life, but leave her feeling weak and malnourished

The time and cost of liquidating collateral can often be prohibitive and is always a nuisance. Of course, this problem is exacerbated when the asset value is less than the balance owed to the secured creditor(s), leaving no value for unsecured creditors. Lenders often step up and carve out an amount to be distributed to unsecured creditors to enable a Chapter 11 to proceed to effect a sale of the debtor’s assets free and clear of liens. Some consider this to be a price to be paid by secured creditors for the privilege of utilizing the bankruptcy court to sell their collateral. Thus, the cost of a bankruptcy can be very expensive not only to the debtor, but also to the secured lender. As a result, small and middle-market companies and their lenders have grown receptive to non-bankruptcy vehicles for the disposition of assets.

The transformation of retail is creating new and significant challenges for traditional retailers. Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Advisory, explores those obstacles and offers solutions to help retailers survive – and even thrive — during these tumultuous times.

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.

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.”

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 installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Tim Knight (pictured) to hear his perspective on executive development, advice for lenders, the growth in the non-bank market, what every executive should be thinking about, the importance of diversity and lessons learned, among other things.

Knight is the vice president and senior managing partner with ThinkingAhead where he is responsible for operations, training and recruiting for the firm. He also leads the partner group that heads up the firm’s Commercial Banking and Commercial Finance, Legal, Life Sciences and Security/Physical infrastructure search practices.

As companies and lenders evaluate performance risk and expectations for 2022, the trends previously considered to be emerging need to be considered a permanent part of the 2022 business environment. At this point, it is unrealistic to consider inflation transitory, or to believe there is a magic switch that will eliminate labor and supply chain issues.

In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Andrea Petro to talk about her new role as Board Member at Ready Capital, and to share her advice to ABL managers about consolidation, competition and the current state of the market.

Some turnaround and M&A leaders are predicting the second quarter of 2022 could be when the “default boom” hits. Asset-based lenders, factors, and other secured lenders will need to be at the ready to handle turnaround deals.

Ever since the early days of blockchain with the 2009 introduction of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have been prone to periods of high and low valuation. After going through another “crypto-winter,” or period of low prices, lasting three years, cryptocurrencies have once again caught the attention of a broader investor community.

Since the second half of 2020, the sheer number of new cryptocurrency offerings and the price volatility have been breathtaking. For example, Ethereum—the number two cryptocurrency and blockchain platform by market cap—grew by 800 percent from October 2020-October 2021. As new investment vehicles for Bitcoin are introduced in the United States, the hype is at an all-time high.

On August 3 and 4, YoPro members from across the country gathered to attend the SFNet's YoPro Leadership Summit 2021 in Chicago. The conference provided in-person networking opportunities and insightful panels featuring industry leaders.

The leadership summit would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors – Event Co-Sponsor Hilco Global and Winston & Strawn LLP, Reception Sponsor, Wells Fargo, and our Supporting Sponsors, Gerber Finance and Gordon Brothers.