Archive for 2023

Hiring in the B2B Finance Industry Still Challenging

November 21, 2023
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resume“To say that hiring is a difficult process is an understatement and I think that it’s a direct reflection of the labor market and the volatility in America’s labor market right now,” said Manny Yosipov, CEO at Advanced Recovery Group. Yosipov’s company does collections in the MCA and business lending space, where like many other industries, persistently low unemployment coupled with a workforce tuned into lifestyle accommodations has made the hiring environment challenging.

“You have quality talent now that want remote work and a lot of flexibility,” said Yosipov. “I think that it’s hardest for companies that have started pre-covid, survived covid, and are now trying to grow and scale in the post covid market.”

Daniel Hye, ISO Relations Manager at Zahav Asset Management, said that if remote work wasn’t in such high demand, the open positions would have likely been filled by now. Zahav is currently looking to fill an underwiting and collections role.

“We could have already had someone, but we really don’t want remote because it makes a huge difference with the way things work,” Hye said. “Especially in our industry, everything’s about speed. You want to walk over to the underwriter or you want to turn around to the underwriter and say, ‘Hey, this deal, the ISO just called me, can we get this done? Or this was a mistake? Can you do this?’ Once it’s remote it changes the whole dynamics of how everything works.”

“I mean, remote is very preferred by a lot of people,” said Carli Bova-Chezem, Director of Human Resources at Capital Gurus, “but it’s kind of funny I talked to so many people all the time and it really isn’t for everybody. I get handfuls of people that are like, ‘I’ve been remote for the last month but I really want that camaraderie of an office and I miss being around people.’”

Capital Gurus has used a variety of sources to recruit but they’re now using an end-to-end hiring system called Breezy. Bova-Chezem said that it’s increased their application rate while streamlining the process.

“There’s a plethora of places that these applicants are coming from,” said Bova-Chezem. “Up until I’d say about a month ago, it was primarily LinkedIn, which is obviously a great resource, but we’ve gotten a lot more outreach using this new system, which has been great.”

Hye of Zahav, meanwhile, says they’ve also tried a variety of systems but that it comes down to finding job applicants with proper experience. “I think the biggest issue is being able to find someone who fits the criteria and is happy to get involved,” Hye said.

deBanked Thanksgiving Memes 2023

November 21, 2023
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It’s Thanksgiving again so you know what that means? Memes! This tradition (which we’ve kept up with as often as possible) started on deBanked in 2012. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and strong end-of-year.

And now, the memes:































brokers vs funders


See previous year memes:

2022 Thanksgiving Day Memes
2021 Thanksgiving Day Memes
2020 Thanksgiving Day Memes
2019 Thanksgiving Day Memes
2018
2017
2016
2012

Plus, don’t forget to register for deBanked CONNECT MIAMI taking place on January 11 in Miami Beach. This year’s event will feature the first ever Broker Battle!



broker battle



deBanked CONNECT MIAMI 2024

happy thanksgiving

Attend deBanked CONNECT MIAMI for Broker Brilliance

November 20, 2023
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broker brilliance debanked miami

Before the Broker Battle at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI, come join the Broker Brilliance session!

  • Enjoy a preview of the official SBFA broker certification led by the Executive Director of the SBFA and a Partner of top law firm Hudson Cook, LLP.
  • Learn about pending legislation and regulations that could impact your career forever.
  • Find out what licenses are required for brokers and broker shops so that you stay compliant.
  • Hear about the extraordinary opportunity that comes with joining the official Broker Council.
  • Don’t just sell for today, make sure you’re set up for longevity!

BUT, in order to experience all of it you MUST be registered for deBanked CONNECT MIAMI. Join the industry on January 11th!

REGISTER HERE

Judges Announced for Broker Battle at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI

November 17, 2023
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The first ever Broker Battle™ taking place at deBanked CONNECT MIAMI on January 11th at the Miami Beach Convention Center has locked in 4 highly qualified judges.

Broker Battle Judges

The Battle will feature 5-8 brokers exhibiting their abilities while fielding questions from the judges in front of a LIVE audience. The winner of the championship round will receive a $5,000 grand prize. More than 30 brokers have already entered themselves in for consideration. The submission deadline is December 1. More information and the entry form can be viewed here.

deBanked CONNECT MIAMI will also have a full slate of additional content including a complete Broker info session called Broker Brilliance on top of networking.

REGISTER FOR DEBANKED CONNECT MIAMI

When Funding Gets Personal

November 16, 2023
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main street“We’re excited to have the opportunity to fund within the community, and then go visit, help them grow their business and everything like that…” said Benjamin Lieff, Chief Revenue Officer of Capital Gurus.

For an industry that has a reputation for being online, funding relationships can become quite personal. Lieff, for example, previously helped a couple with securing a lease to open a barcade in North Hollywood, California and then also did whatever he could to get them through to their grand opening including work to get their liquor license. Now, they’re actually friends.

“Not only was I able to go visit during the construction process and them opening this location but whenever I’m back in Los Angeles, I always go spend some time with him and his wife,” said Lieff. “I went to the opening party and anybody who talks to me, and they’re looking for that type of business, I always lead them there and they’re actually really blowing up. And I’m really happy to see them. I’m constantly cheering them on.”

For Funding Circle US, having an office in the big city of Denver means that some of their borrowers are coincidentally located right in their neighborhood. It’s fairly common for them to be customers of these businesses as well and they’ve actually used some for in-office catering.

“One of our favorites in Denver is called Whittier cafe. And it’s Denver’s only African espresso bar,” said Kristal Bergfield, General Manager of Strategic Partnerships at Funding Circle. The store has even been featured on Funding Circle’s TikTok.

As for Claude Darmony, President at WeFund in the Fort Lauderdale area, he knew one business quite well before the funding started.

“He was just a mechanic shop, I gave him the funds to start building gas stations next to it,” said Darmony. “It was a good friend of mine.”

While still having to go through the normal underwiting process, Darmony got to attend the grand opening after the deal went through. “It was nice,” he said.

Big Lines of Credit for Canadian Merchants?

November 15, 2023
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Town of Canmore in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, CanadaBusiness loan brokers in Canada typically do not fit the same mold as brokers in the United States. Most business loan brokers in Canada are actually mortgage brokers working with mortgage clients that happen to own a business. Such has been the case for Kingsmen Capital Investments, a Canadian small business lender that gets roughly half of its deal flow from mortgage brokers. It’s a nice relationship, but Kingsmen Capital believed that something was missing between a bank loan and merchant cash advances/small unsecured loans.

“We’ve started to come out of the MCA space,” said Kingsmen Managing Partner Roger Dusanj.

The company’s idea was lines of credit that start as low as $250,000 and go up to $2 million (or even higher). Although it can be a little more expensive than a bank, the true LOC can also be easier to obtain. Dusanj, for example, said that they’ll evaluate a business’s ebitda versus looking at their total net income. Covid, he added, has also made businesses across Canada more receptive to non-bank products and so it’s taking off.

“In 18 months, we paid out $100 million,” Dusanj said of the loans they’ve made already. The progress so far has made them confident that they’re on to something big. The company will also do term loans and equipment financing.

Although the Canadian mortage broker community works well, Kingsmen says that they would work with US-residing business loan brokers. The company was founded in 2015.

deBanked CONNECT MIAMI Unveils Inaugural Broker Battle™

November 13, 2023
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In the span of just a few hours after deBanked CONNECT MIAMI announced BROKER BATTLE, about a dozen brokers entered their names into the contest on the hope that they may be chosen to compete LIVE at the Miami Beach Convention Center on January 11th. Entries will be accepted through December 1st but it may shut off sooner if the broker contestant pool reaches critical mass.

deBanked CONNECT Miami is adding Broker Battle to this year’s lineup of content. The first-of-its-kind event aims to be fun, educational, and serious. The winner of the Battle will earn the distinction of being the Top Broker and win a grand prize of $5,000.

To learn more about Broker Battle and/or enter, CLICK HERE.

To register for the event and make sure you witness history, learn from the experts, and enjoy the extraordinary networking opportunities of deBanked CONNECT MIAMI, CLICK HERE.

Got questions about deBanked CONNECT Miami? Want to sponsor? Email events@debanked.com.

This will be deBanked’s 6th annual event in Miami since 2018. ARE YOU READY?!

BROKER BATTLE

BHG Financial Tightening Its Credit Box, Dealing With Tough Environment

November 13, 2023
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BHG Financial (formerly Bankers Healthcare Group) originated $1 billion in loans in Q3, according to recently filed disclosures about the company. That was down from $1.1B in Q2. BHG mainly provides business loans and unsecured loans to healthcare practitioners. Although the company considered it to be a stronger quarter than anticipated, it predicts that Q4 will not be as strong and that originations will actually drop significantly to between $600M to $800M.

“As we look to the fourth quarter, BHG believes origination volumes will likely be less than Q3 as they continue to shrink their credit box,” said Terry Turner, CEO of Pinnacle Financial Partners, which owns 49% of BHG.

While originations start to slow, loan loss reserves have also increased.

“The decrease in income from BHG during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to the same periods in the prior year is largely the result of increases in (i) the liability for estimated future inherent losses for the outstanding core portfolio of loans sold to banks through the auction platform that may be subject to future substitution due to payment default or prepayment and (ii) the allowance for loan losses for loans BHG has retained on its balance sheet due to the uncertain economic environment.”

BHG is also exiting its “merchant financing business,” according to Pinnacle CFO Harold Carpenter. Carpenter was referring to NaluPay, BHG’s Point of Sale financing division. NaluPay launched a little over a year ago to great fanfare, claiming it would enable merchants “to offer their customers large credit lines, a suite of promotional and non-promotional financing options, and instant credit decisions within seconds.”

Nevertheless, Pinnacle says that BHG is feeling good about the direction things are heading.”BHG is optimistic about credit at the end of the third quarter,” Turner said.