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On April 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve announced that it is expanding eligibility to participate in the Federal Reserve’s Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (the “PPPLF”) to all lenders eligible to originate Paycheck Protection Program loans.[1]  The PPPLF permits eligible PPP lenders to pledge PPP loan notes to the Federal Reserve in exchange for a low interest, non-recourse loan from the Federal Reserve in the amount of the pledged PPP loan note. 

Program Update

When originally announced, the PPPLF was only available to PPP lenders that are depository institutions.  Now, all PPP lenders approved by the SBA, including banks, credit unions, Community Development Financial Institutions, members of the Farm Credit System, small business lending companies licensed by the SBA, and some financial technology firms, are eligible to participate in the PPPLF. 

As the Secured Finance Network and its members have examined the Main Street Lending Program, there have been two aspects of the program in particular that have been identified as impacting on the utility of the program for borrowers from asset-based lenders. 

Both points, along with some others, have been raised in letters from the Secured Finance Network to the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.  And the Secured Finance Network has followed up with specific questions to Treasury arising from the “Main Street Lending Program Frequently Asked Questions” published on July 31, 2020 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the “FAQs”) in understanding what is permitted under the Program that could significantly impact how it may be used with an asset-based facility.

As of March 31, 2021 the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 8.1 million job openings, with 3.1 million open jobs in the south, 1.8 million jobs in the west, 1.3 million jobs in the northeast and 1.8 million jobs in the Midwest. Private job openings are 7.3 million of the total job openings, with 0.8 million government jobs open. The private job openings are across all industries.

The unemployment rate by state varies dramatically from 2.9% in Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont to 8.3% in California, Connecticut, and New Mexico, 8.5% in New York and 9.0% in Hawaii. The overall unemployment rate is 6.1%.

Refinitiv’s director of analytics shares with readers the latest data surrounding the syndicated market.

The whole financial world is working to move away from Libor and other interbank lending benchmarks, which for decades have been used to set borrowing costs on bonds and loans, as well as products ranging from derivatives to credit cards. Since 2018, more than $150 billion worth of bonds have been sold using rates set by a new generation of benchmarks. The syndicated loan market is lagging far behind, with at least $12 trillion of deals needing to be replaced or rewritten so they follow a Libor alternative. There are no easy fixes in sight despite potential deadlines as early as this year.

Gerber has established this new division alongside its parent company, eCapital Corp., ("eCapital"), a leading alternative finance provider, to help companies grow and achieve their mission by accelerating their access to capital. The new division will be led by Senior Vice President Entela Semini, who will serve as Northeast director of Gerber+.

Lending to companies with just a few million dollars in earnings is gaining greater interest from investors seeking higher yields and better protections as the private credit market grows increasingly segmented and sophisticated.

Firms are looking to raise funds to target companies in the lower middle market, or companies with an Ebitda of less than US$15m, including Deerpath Capital Management, which wants to raise US$1bn for its lower middle market fund, and PineBridge Investments, which announced it has US$596m to invest. At the same time, Main Street Capital Corp said it is continuing to seek opportunities in this segment.

Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.

All that practice paid off. When he was just Vernon Francois grew up in a Rastafarian household where the weekly tradition was having his hair braided every Sunday. The experience was so painful that he decided to learn how to braid hair himself, using carpets and window shade edges as practice.

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the world’s largest provider of health care solutions to office-based dental and medical professionals, today announced that it has closed on a new credit facility totaling $700 million, with JP Morgan Securities LLC and U.S. Bank NA serving as Joint Lead Arrangers.

The new facility represents $700 million in committed financing that increases and replaces $200 million in uncommitted financing from the same lenders. The Company’s liquidity position now totals $1.7 billion.

On March 9-11, we will bring ABCC to you live online, with the great content and opportunities for networking that you have come to expect from the conference. The Conference will be accessible through our acclaimed SFNet Connect Platform, offering hours of dedicated and facilitated meeting time each day. This year, we will be offering more insightful sessions than ever before.

“While we are all disappointed that we won’t be able to get together in person for this year’s event, the move to a virtual format has opened up many new possibilities for the actual content,” said Barry Bobrow, managing director, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and ABCC Conference Chair. “ABCC has always been known for having rich and important content for attendees.  Without the requirement for our presenters to be in attendance in Las Vegas we have been able to significantly broaden and strengthen our content for 2021, with significantly more segments than we have been able to include in prior ABCC events. 

Five firms have contributed to the SFFound since its inception: Goldberg Kohn, Hahn & Hessen, Otterbourg, Skadden, and Winston & Strawn.  We would like to express our gratitude for their support. For information on becoming a supporter of SFFound, please click here. 

As more and more companies look at integrating sustainability into their business processes and strategy, there is still much room for growth in the green and sustainable finance market. The Covid-19 crisis is only expected to increase interest in this area.

A global thought leader on monetary policy, economics and finance, Danielle DiMartino Booth founded Quill Intelligence LLC and is their CEO & Chief Strategist. This is a research and analytics firm which publishes The Daily Feather and the Weekly Quill.

To build Quill Intelligence, she brought together a core team of investing veterans to analyze trends and provide critical analysis on what is driving the markets – both in the United States and globally.

DiMartino Booth set out to launch a #ResearchRevolution, redefining how markets intelligence is conceived and delivered with the goal of not only guiding portfolio managers, but promoting financial literacy.

Since its inception, commentary and data from The Daily Feather have appeared in financial media such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business, Institutional Investor, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TD Ameritrade, TheStreet.com, and more.

She will be speaking during SFNet’s Live Online Annual Convention, November 17-19, 2020.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that CIT Northbridge Credit, through its investment advisor CIT Asset Management LLC, served as sole lead arranger on a $20 million senior secured credit facility for Marquis Construction Services LLC.

Headquartered in Clute, Texas, Marquis Construction Services is a multi-disciplined, soft-craft provider of industrial and construction services, including scaffolding, insulation, sandblasting and painting, environmental abatement, fireproofing and industrial siding.