Bell Bank announces the launch of Bell Business Credit, a national specialty lending team providing asset-based lending and factoring services ideally suited for working capital intensive companies that generate $2 million to $120 million in annual revenue. 

Led by industry veterans Kei Lehigh, who serves as president, and Matt Howe, director of credit and operations, Bell Business Credit further expands Bell Bank’s commercial finance and specialty lending areas. Lehigh and Howe bring to Bell more than 50 years of combined commercial lending experience in this niche. 

The introduction of the novel coronavirus pandemic into the global economy starting in late 2019 created a level of disruption not seen perhaps since the world’s last major conflicts.  As we move through what we hope to be the later stages of the pandemic, we thought it might be helpful to explore its impact on the trade credit insurance marketplace and highlight what we can anticipate in the months and year ahead.

Throughout the world, surges in cases of the virus caused a significant portion of the global economy to shut down in a manner that was/is unprecedented in recent history.  This significant curtailment of economic activity brought most of the service sector (travel and leisure, entertainment/restaurant industry) and a big segment of the manufacturing sector to either grinding halts or intermittent disruptions.  Consumer demand dropped and unemployment spiked.  As economies reopened, rebounds were relatively sharp, but left many countries still well below prior levels of economic activity and currently, a second round of lockdowns continues to beleaguer a good number of countries.