Articles

At a meeting of its Executive Committee in June, SFNet put forward a plan to establish two new standing committees. The first would seek to understand and address issues of diversity, equality and inclusion as they affect the SFNet Community. The second would focus on the proliferation of international secured finance. The formation of the new committees, which would hold seats on SFNet’s Executive Committee, will be presented for approval to SFNet Member Directors along with the overall recommended slate of 2021 Fiscal Year Executive and Management Committee candidates later this month.

Axiom Bank, N.A., a Maitland-based, leading community bank, recently appointed Dan Karas as EVP of Allied Affiliated Funding, the Bank’s factoring and asset-based lending division.  In this role, Karas will be responsible for guiding the division and driving its initiatives toward continuing growth.

Karas’ commercial lending expertise spans nearly four decades with national and regional banks. In his most recent role at a Dallas-based community bank, Karas helped create its commercial finance businesses and expand its commercial lending platforms and grew profitability.

Gibraltar prides itself on its ability to provide companies and their private equity sponsors with flexible financing and maximum liquidity, based on our ability to understand each business’ special situation. This enabled us recently to provide Texas-based Easy Gardener Products, Inc, a $20 million credit facility to help with a restructuring.

Easy Gardener designs, manufactures, and sells a broad range of consumer lawn and garden products. It sells its products under several well-known patented and trademark brands such as WeedBlock, Jobe's, Emerald Edge, Landmaster, Ross, and Jobe’s Organics. Its customer base includes longstanding relationships over a 20- to 30-year period with a robust network of large national home improvement and mass merchant retailers as well as local hardware stores and independent garden centers and nurseries.

Second Avenue Capital Partners, LLC (“SACP”) (www.secondavecp.com), announced today it has provided a $12,500,000 senior secured credit facility to Carlisle Etcetera, LLC (the “Company”), a direct-to-consumer women’s luxury apparel brand. 

Commercial loan growth reaccelerated across much of the U.S. banking industry as lenders began to fund federally backed small business loans and prepared to start processing a second round of applications under the coronavirus relief program.

Excluding the 25 largest institutions by assets, commercial and industrial loans increased 6.3% during the week ended April 15, according to seasonally adjusted data in the Federal Reserve's most recent H.8 report on commercial banks. That represents a huge jump from growth rates of 0.6% to 0.8% in the preceding two weeks, and leapfrogs growth of 2.1% to 2.3% during two weeks in March when corporate draws against bank credit lines were particularly heavy.

Encina Business Credit, LLC announced today that it has provided a $75 million senior secured revolving credit facility to a leading global provider of risk management and operational support services to government and commercial clients.

The senior secured revolving line of credit, which is collateralized by accounts receivable, was used to refinance existing debt and provide ongoing working capital financing.

Nneoma Maduike, member of SFNet’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness Committee interviews Anthony C. Hood, PhD, executive vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer of First Horizon National Corp. Dr. Hood is responsible for cultivating and expanding First Horizon’s strategic leadership in developing and implementing programs and initiatives that advance the Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Richard Hawkins, CEO of Atlantic RMS, considers the implications of the UK government's latest announcement and its impact on asset-based lending to UK business.

Screen shots of the various First Place Teams from the Go Game festivities held on October 27. Attendees had a great time competing in trivia and lip syncing competitions.

As circumstances are moving rapidly, companies and their lenders are dealing with unprecedented times.  While companies try to determine the full impact of the current economic tailspin on their businesses, lenders are looking to understand their risks and how they can respond to them.

The credit agreement sets out the rules of the road for the relationship between a company and its lenders.  In the list of credit agreement provisions set out below we attempt to provide a map for the secured lender for navigating those rules, anticipating where there may be bumps or wrong turns and providing some guidance for where a lender may go in the credit agreement to determine its path when confronted with a borrower in distress.

SFNet's 75th Annual Convention featured a fantastic lineup of thought leaders whose insights helped attendees see around corners and make the best decisions for their  business. From leading private debt and equity players and supply chain experts to M&A advisors, ground-breaking economists and the best minds in the legal community, industry authorities shed light on the issues affecting attendees' business now and in the future. The latest data and forecasts including all new studies dimensioning the secured finance market and examining its inter-relationships was also presented. Whether an ABL lender, factor, advisor, intermediary or other, there was something for everyone in our Network.

White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC (“White Oak”), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, announced that Wes Reagan has joined the Lender Finance Team as Managing Director of Underwriting. He will be responsible for underwriting, sourcing, structuring, and managing lender finance and ABL transactions as part of White Oak’s expanded lender finance and asset-based lending platform. Wes is based in Atlanta and will report to Neal Mulford, the Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management.

This year’s YoPro Leadership Summit, held virtually August 26-27, 2020 brought together the young professionals of the secured finance industry for opportunities to hear from industry leaders, connect with peers, and to discover together how to find success in the post-COVID environment. This year's theme was "Succeeding in the New Environment."

Citizens Commercial Banking announced today that it is providing a $42 million asset-based credit facility to New York-based Stoli Group USA, an importer, marketer and distributor of Stolichnaya vodkas, along with other spirits and wines in the United States. Citizens is the sole lender.