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Fifth Third Bank, National Association, announced today that Mitchell Feiger, the chairman and CEO of Fifth Third Bank (Chicago), will retire on May 29, 2020. Succeeding him as the leader of the Chicago region will be Mark Hoppe, who had been named to the post of regional president in July 2019. Feiger had served in his current role since the merger of Fifth Third Bank and MB Financial in March 2019. He previously had served as president and CEO of MB Financial. 

This is a new feature providing advice from WISF members to young professionals on a specific topic.

White Oak Commercial Finance (“White Oak”), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, announced today it has purchased a portfolio of asset-based loans from Veritas Financial Partners, a Boca Raton, FL based specialty finance company.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that its Power and Energy business served as coordinating lead arranger on a $323 million refinancing of the Coso Geothermal power facility in Southern California.

Originally developed in 1987, the 142-megawatt Coso Geothermal facility has been a steady source of renewable power for the Southern California region for more than three decades. The Coso site is considered one of the top three producers of geothermal electrical power in the United States.

On Sunday night, March 22, 2020, the federal banking agencies (OCC, FDIC, NCUA, Federal Reserve), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the State Conference of Bank Supervisors issued an Interagency Statement on Loan Modifications and Reporting for Financial Institutions Working with Customers Affected by the Coronavirus.

White Oak Commercial Finance is pleased to announce that Martin F. Efron has joined the firm as the portfolio manager in New York, serving the Northeast region. He will report to Bob Grbic, CEO and president of White Oak Commercial Finance.

Wingspire Capital LLC (“Wingspire”) is pleased to provide a $46 million senior secured credit facility to Worldwise, Inc., a leading designer and supplier of pet products.

The transaction includes a $30 million revolving line of credit and a $16 million term loan to replace the previous credit facilities and enable Worldwise to meet the growing demand for cat and dog toys, beds, carriers and other pet products as the pet category continues to grow both in the U.S. and worldwide.

As an SFNet Chapter leader, some of the most enjoyable times are spent working with the next generation.  Joe Accardi, Head of New Business Development at Peoples United Business Capital, and I did that earlier this fall at Temple University, where I have been an adjunct professor for the last 11 years.  During the last two semesters, Joe has led discussions on asset-based lending (ABL) with graduating seniors.  Jeff Walsh and the team at SFNet prepared a slide presentation on the particulars of ABL and Joe also prepared a separate supplement.

Otterbourg P.C. announced today that Valerie S. Mason and Nneoma A. Maduike have been named Co-Chairs of the firm’s Lender Finance Practice Group.

Otterbourg’s experienced Lender Finance team advises and represents the largest US and global institutional lenders and regional banks, as lenders and mature lenders, sponsor supported companies, and strategics, ranging from start-ups to mature traditional lenders and funds, merchant cash advance companies, asset-based lenders, factors and fintech lenders, as borrowers, in “lender to lender” secured revolving credit and term loan facilities.

Bantry Bay Capital Limited (“Bantry Bay” or the “Company”), the specialist lender, has established a joint venture partnership with funds advised by Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited and its affiliates (together “Elliott”). Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited is an affiliate of Elliott investment Management, L.P., the global fund manager with approximately $41.8 billion in assets under management.

U.S. Bank announced that John Freeman has been added to the Asset-Based Finance (ABF) team to head the group’s Corporate Client West and Southwest Originations.  Based in Los Angeles, Freeman brings more than 25 years of Asset-Based Lending experience with an extensive background in Credit, Restructuring, and Originations.  John will be responsible for providing asset-based solutions to companies, intermediaries and financial sponsors.

Corporate entities often turn to asset-based lending (ABL) as a strategic way to fund acquisitions, reduce capital volatility inherent in cash flow structures, or simply to accelerate growth. Secured by company assets, this alternative path to cash flow financing has historically followed the same process: companies choose a lending institution based on the most attractive deal structure, accept its deal terms, and undergo a field exam and asset appraisal to determine the appropriate borrowing terms.

The European Union’s recent passage of its Sustainability Financial Disclosure Regulation marks yet another milestone in the progression of environmental, social and governance matters. This article will review this regulation and related ESG disclosure requirements, together with other notable ESG developments, and discuss their impact on middle-market lenders.

The increase in loan and lease defaults in the wake of COVID-19 has brought to the forefront numerous legal defenses by borrowers and tenants, such as force majeure, impossibility, and frustration of purpose.  Force majeure allows a party to suspend or terminate their obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise.  Impossibility applies when the destruction of the subject matter of the contract or the means of performance makes contract compliance objectively impossible.  Frustration of purpose applies when a change in circumstances makes one party’s performance virtually worthless to the other.  The decision whether to permit these defenses boils down to allocation of risk, specifically (i) who should bear the risk of unforeseen circumstances, such as the pandemic; and (ii) does the governing contract address the allocation of risk?

Tim 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.

This is Tim’s 25^th year in executive search. Prior to joining ThinkingAhead, he was with Southwestern Advantage as a District Sales Manager recruiting and training salespeople. Including his college summers, Tim has been with Southwestern Family of Companies for 35 years. In his 24 years with ThinkingAhead, he has personally filled over 400 engagements for clients and his teams over 2300 professionals placed with client companies and is the all team leader in personal production for ThinkingAhead.