TSL Feature Articles
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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. -
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.
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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Selling with Experience: Bob Seidenberger on His New Role at Franklin Capital and Market Outlook
Mar 13, 2025With almost 40 years in commercial finance, including recent roles at Bridgeport Capital and Bay View Funding, and a strong commitment to helping businesses secure working capital, Seidenberger brings substantial industry knowledge to Franklin Capital’s senior team. Here we sat down with Seidenberger to learn more about his new role at Franklin Capital and his predictions for the industry this year.
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Key Takeaways from SFNet’s Asset-Based Capital Conference
Feb 27, 2025SFNet's Asset-Based Capital Conference was held February 11-12, 2025, at the Wynn in Las Vegas, NV. Now in its 17th year, it is the premier event for those in the middle-market leveraged finance and asset-based finance world. Attendees walked away with up-to-date market insights from industry leaders, with panels ranging from the current state of the economy and industry, while benefitting from networking opportunities with key decision makers. Here, conference attendee Cheryl Mayo of Haversine Funding shares some of the key conference takeaways.
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Top Gun: Maverick and a New Generation of Lenders
Feb 24, 2025There is a generational change going on in the BDO role with more NextGen BDOs getting promoted and doing the job in their own way while at the same time still learning from the “Maverick” BDOs who pioneered the role.
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Interview with Vincent Roldan, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Feb 24, 2025Vincent J. Roldan is a Partner in Mandelbaum Barrett PC's Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights, and Banking and Financial Services groups. He has represented parties in interest in various aspects of bankruptcy proceedings and out of court workouts across the U.S. Here we spotlight Vincent as a member of SFNet's Inclusiveness Committee.
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President Trump's Executive Orders Impact Financial Regulation and the Broader Economy
Feb 20, 2025President Trump's recent executive orders are reshaping the landscape for financial services through significant changes to financial regulation, trade policy, and digital assets. At SFNet's Asset-Based Capital Conference in Las Vegas last week, industry leaders and policy experts gathered to analyze these changes and their implications for the lending market. -
Interview with Sameer Kapoor, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Jan 27, 2025Sameer Kapoor is a seasoned Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditor Rights partner at Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP, who provides legal support and advice to clients in defaulted loan workouts, various types of creditors’ rights litigation matters, and bankruptcy cases. Sameer’s client-first approach focuses on providing practical legal advice that efficiently and effectively mitigates the various types of risk faced by lenders.
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Jennifer Wallace, Chair of SFNet’s 40 Under 40 Awards, Encourages Members to Nominate Rising Stars
Jan 13, 2025Nominations for the 2025 SFNet 40 Under 40 Awards are open until Feb. 1. The Awards celebrate the secured finance industry’s rising stars. The SFNet 40 Under 40 Awards Committee Chair is Jennifer Wallace, loan portfolio manager, Wells Fargo Commercial Capital – Lender Finance. Here, we speak with Jennifer who shares her insights as a former winner on why SFNet members should consider nominating a rising star this year.
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Interview with Kristin Maxwell, Member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee
Jan 7, 2025Throughout her career, Kristin has consulted with working capital providers to identify and resolve business challenges by leveraging technology. At Wells Fargo, her areas of focus include legacy application modernization, process improvement, automation, and simplifying tech stacks.
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Deal Activity Slows for Asset-Based Lending, but Portfolio Performance Stays Strong
Dec 23, 2024
Secured Finance Network posts Q3 survey results from bank and non-bank lenders
Data from the Secured Finance Network revealed generally mixed results in the asset-based lending market for the third quarter, with deal activity receding in response to fewer new client commitments, and the portfolio performance index improving for both non-banks and banks against already historically strong levels. -
Exploring the Future of Supply Chain Finance: Insights from SFNet's Inaugural Conference
Dec 23, 2024
Tariffs, digitization, trade policy among top themes
Held on December 3, 2024 at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in New York, NY, this inaugural conference aimed to help asset-based lenders stay informed about industry developments, improve their lending practices, and identify opportunities for growth.
The Secured Lender
SFNet's Covention Issue




