Robert Love

In this installment of our series of executive interviews, Charlie Perer sits with Bob Love, Asset-Based Lending (ABL) Group Director for Flagstar Bank, to hear his views about his new role at Flagstar Bank, bank vs. non-bank competition, the future of ABL, executive development and competition, among other things.

Charlie Perer: Thank you for your time, Bob. To begin, can you please talk briefly about your background?   

Robert Love:  Charlie, thank you for the opportunity. I began my career at The Bank of New York in 1990, starting, like many in the industry at the time, as a field examiner. I advanced through roles in credit analysis and underwriting before serving as a portfolio manager for three years. At 29, I made the decision to launch my own asset-based lending (ABL) group.

I proactively pitched the idea, unaware that they had already launched an ABL group, to the CEO of Dime Savings Bank. This initiative led to a unique opportunity where I played a key role as one of the group’s first three team members. In this capacity, I simultaneously served as a business development officer, underwriter, and portfolio manager, contributing to the group’s early success and growth.

After 18 months at Dime, Joe Nemia approached me with an ABL opportunity at GE. My time there instilled a methodical and structured approach to new business, which I carried with me to CIT and Citizens. Eventually, I decided it was time to pursue my long-standing goal of starting an ABL group.

That opportunity came first at Amalgamated Bank, followed by an opportunity with Signature Bank. In August 2013, I launched Signature’s ABL group, which has since become the ABL Group for Flagstar Bank following its acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Signature Bank.

Tell us about Flagstar Bank and why investing in ABL is a strategic priority?

Before the formation of the “New Flagstar,” I spent 15 years of my life explaining what ABL is to senior leadership at various companies on the fundamentals and strategic importance of ABL.

While many executives recognized they wanted it, few truly understood its intricacies. As ABL lenders, we have been trained in a discipline, and we don’t lose that principal. I have had to explain repeatedly the steps that we take, to not only senior managers, but senior credit people. I would walk away thinking they didn’t truly understand, and then at the next credit approval, I would know they really didn’t understand everything we do. 

This changed in early 2024 when Joseph Otting joined Flagstar as CEO. Given his extensive background as a commercial lender, Joseph immediately understood the significance of ABL within a robust commercial lending program. During our first meeting, he set aside my prepared presentation and affirmed, “Bob, I know what asset-based lending is. To build a strong commercial lending portfolio, we must offer ABL to balance the bank’s overall risk profile and drive growth.”

Shortly after, Rich Raffetto was appointed as president of Commercial and Private Banking. On his second day, a brief introduction turned into an hour-long discussion about the ABL group’s pivotal role within Flagstar. Later that same day, Rich attended our weekly portfolio review meeting—the first time a senior executive had participated in over a decade.

From that moment on, it was clear—Flagstar Bank values ABL and views it as a cornerstone for expanding the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) loan book and achieving strategic growth. The mandate was clear: accelerate and scale our ABL efforts. As Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 Miracle Hockey Team, famously said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” At Flagstar, this is our great opportunity, and we’re seizing first time a senior executive had participated in over a decade.

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