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U.S. health officials say Americans should wear masks in public to combat the coronavirus. Financial support by CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is helping two California apparel makers create masks that protect with style. Sanctuary Clothing and Karen Kane, both Los Angeles-based clients of CIT's Commercial Services business, have rolled out stylish face masks that can be worn by consumers to provide another layer of protection against COVID-19 transmission when out in public. Both clothing companies are using proceeds from sales of fashion masks to help finance donations of masks to hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

I am old enough to remember the meltdowns that we had in the 1990s when prime rate of interest hit double digits and the American economy cratered when companies folded up and went out of business. Of course, I also remember 2008-2009 when the housing crisis hit and a lot of companies went out of business and banks lost a lot of money, etc. Here we go again.  We are now in the year 2020 and sitting on the brink of another emerging crisis.

The parent company of Webster Bank announced Monday it would merge with the parent company of Sterling National Bank in an all-stock deal worth about $10.3 billion.

The new company will locate its headquarters in Stamford — an agreement that marks the second blockbuster transaction this year for Connecticut’s banking sector.

Waterbury-based Webster Financial Corp.’s union with the Pearl River, N.Y.-based Sterling Bancorp would create a bank with about $63 billion in total assets, $52 billion in deposits and more than 200 branch locations in the northeast U.S. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Interview with Betty Hernandez, chair of SFNet’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Committee.

From the third quarter Phoenix Management “Lending Climate in America” survey results reveal COVID-19 will continue to have a major effect on U.S. performance throughout 2020.

While lenders seem to believe COVID-19 will have a major effect on the U.S. performance until a vaccine is widely available, the outlook for the U.S. economy in the near and long-term is more favorable in Q3 2020 than in the previous quarter predictions. The near-term grade point average (GPA) increased 54 percentage points to 1.72 from the Q2 2020 GPA of 1.18. The projected outlook for the U.S. economy in the long-term increased slightly (by 36 percentage points) to 2.60 from the previous quarter’s results of 2.24.

Is there a British coup occurring? Well, not really. As one demonstrator from the Shires pointed out on prime time TV, “I don’t see any tanks.”  Of course there are no tanks; this is England and in times of crisis we are more likely to be found handing out tea and sympathy than storming the Bastille.

What has happened though, is that we have all learned some new phrases and words and even the historic context of them:

Q3 2019 results generally demonstrate the continuation of trends observed throughout 2019.  Year to date, we continue to have growth in the industry as a whole and credit quality remains solid.  There are a few notable deviations from trends observed throughout the year as we will see.

General economic conditions continue to be top of mind for the secured finance community, but it is interesting to note that we continue to see a divergence between Bank and Non-Bank Lenders with respect to the SFNet Confidence Index. As a reminder, starting in 2019, we have chosen to divide the ABL lender universe along Bank and Non-Bank lines, as opposed to our previous methodology of splitting up the ABL lender universe by portfolio size.

NGL Energy Partners LP announced that it has entered into a new $250 million term loan facility with certain funds and accounts managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. to refinance its existing $250 million bridge term loan facility that was established in July 2019 with TD Securities (USA) LLC as lead arranger and bookrunner and The Toronto-Dominion Bank, New York Branch as initial lender to finance a portion of the acquisition of Mesquite Disposals Unlimited LLC.

California Bank of Commerce (CBC) announces the launch of its Sponsor Finance Lending Division, led by well-known dealmaker Larry LaCroix. The division works closely with private equity firms (including Search Funds) and direct lenders to provide cash flow-based senior debt financing.

John DePledge, head of Asset Based Lending at Bank Leumi USA, discusses his tenure as SFNet president and COVID’s impact on plans.

Citizens announced today that it has provided a new $30 million asset-based revolving line of credit to Cranston, R.I. based Ross-Simons, a leader in direct-to-consumer sales, specializing in offering unique and proprietary fine jewelry designs alongside a deep selection of classics such as diamond tennis bracelets and gold necklaces. Citizens is the Administrative Agent, Sole Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner.

Ross-Simons reaches consumers through a company-operated website, catalog, and its flagship retail store in Warwick, R.I.  The company offers a wide selection of fine jewelry across a range of price points and is known for mixing materials and colors in unexpected combinations. The company was acquired earlier this month by Nonantum Capital Partners.

Succession planning is not a contingency plan. It is a core human resources function that builds and sustains shareholder value.

Dianne Wagman is a senior vice president, senior director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Executive Talent Acquisition for Santander US.   

This article analyzes the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws, and its impact on the inability of state-legal marijuana businesses to obtain traditional and fundamental types of banking services from federally insured banks. This article is divided into three parts: (i) an explanation of the conflict of state and federal marijuana laws; (ii) the effect of the conflicting laws on the decision of banking institutions to provide services to state-licensed marijuana businesses; and (iii) congressional and judicial attempts to resolve the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

This is the second article in a three-part installment about the banking dilemma for state-licensed marijuana businesses in the United States.