Archive for 2023
Broker Fair Returns to New York City May 8, 2023
January 30, 2023
Broker Fair returns to NYC on May 8th at the New York Hilton Midtown. Once again brokers from the small business lending, commercial financing, revenue-based financing, leasing, equipment financing, factoring, and mca industries, will come together in the heart of New York.
“It’s exciting to return back to our pre-pandemic schedule and host Broker Fair in the Spring,” said event founder Sean Murray. “This is the biggest annual small business finance conference in Manhattan and we’re excited to be doing it again now for the sixth time since 2018. If you haven’t seen what this show is all about, 2023 is the best year to come and find out!”
Register here. For inquiries or questions, email events@debanked.com.
See last year’s sizzle reel:
deBanked CONNECT MIAMI Shines
January 26, 2023
The sun wasn’t the only thing shining in the beautiful city of Miami on January 19th. Attendees were beaming with energy to forge connections at deBanked CONNECT. The annual half day event took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The venue offered a nice mix of educational speaking content and networking opportunities.
Among the panels of the day were Preparing for 2023 and a Possible Recession, moderated by Sarah Kelly with panelists Jim Granat, Dylan Howell, and Patrick Ontal and Let’s Talk Big Deals moderated by Daniel Dames, with panelists Jason Solomon, Jay Keller, and Patrick Manning. Advice, conversation, and different perspectives were shared about what can be done to elevate one’s business in the current environment.
Ocrolus’ David Snitkof and Sam Bobley presented a tech demo followed by Kuboon’s Brysen Patridge and Dalton Franklin where a lucky winner went home with a brand new iPad. Steve Denis alongside Jesse Carlson spoke on the latest news on the state of the business and policy issues.
Broker Fair is just four months away and will be at the New York Hilton Midtown, Monday May 8th. Tickets have easily sold out the past couple of events so try not to wait until the last minute!
White House Reiterates Support for Lifting the SBLC Moratorium
January 26, 2023
Now that the opportunity to comment on the SBA’s proposal to lift the moratorium on new SBLCs has passed, the Biden administration has reiterated its support for the initiative. It convened a roundtable with leaders across the small business space on Tuesday “to discuss its commitment to ensuring small businesses have the access to the capital, technical assistance, and support they need to thrive.”
The administration said that if the moratorium is lifted, the “SBA would plan to add three licenses in the initial extension” and that “it would open a path for the Community Advantage program to become permanent.”
The SBA received 169 official comments on the proposal, some in support and some against.
Regulators Seek to Shore Up Potential Hole in Commercial Financing Disclosure Rules
January 25, 2023
After a trade association sued the Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation over its allegedly unlawful disclosure rules, regulators appear to be scrambling to cover their bases. In particular the SBFA, as plaintiff, has argued that California’s prescribed APR formulas are actually preempted by the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and thus irrelevant.
Within 24 hours of the lawsuit becoming public, a federal agency, the CFPB, coincidentally asked the public to comment on whether or not the disclosure law of a separate state (New York) should be preempted by TILA.
“The CFPB is requesting comment on whether it should finalize its preliminary determination that the New York law – as well as potentially similar laws in California, Utah, and Virginia – are not preempted,” the agency said.
It is of the CFPB’s opinion that such state laws are not preempted and it has proposed to codify such in an official ruling. On January 20th the Attorney General for the State of California praised the CFPB for this initiative.
“…if TILA were to preempt the CFDL’s commercial financing disclosures, there would be no required disclosures at all for commercial credit in California, undermining TILA’s purpose in promoting uniform information and eliminating protections for small businesses and entrepreneurs in California,” said AG Rob Bonta.
The disclosure rules in California went into effect on January 1st despite the lawsuit being filed in December. The SBFA did not attempt to obtain a temporary injunction so there was no anticipation of a delay. The only thing that has happened in the case thus far is that California has asked for an extension to answer the lawsuit. The State now has until February 21st to submit it. In the meantime, the comment period for the CFPB’s proposed rule ended on January 20th, which now potentially puts the agency on course to quickly invent a rule to head off the challenge in California and other states.
DataMerch Reaches 100,000 Record Milestone
January 24, 2023
Tampa, January 24, 2023 /DeBanked/ — DataMerch.com, an online underwriting database for the alternative financing industry, announced reaching over 100,000 records in their database on Tuesday.
DataMerch was founded in 2015 with a goal to create a community database where funders can share performance information on merchant businesses. They started with zero records in 2015 and eventually built the largest and most widely used database of its kind in the alternative financing industry.
“We have never aggregated a single record from another source other than our funder-members,” said Co-Founder Cody Burgess. “Every single record in DataMerch has been entered individually by our members either manually, or via API. It’s amazing to see us start from nothing and grow our platform organically over time.”
Co-Founder Scott Williams said, “Our focus on building a database with high quality unique records has really paid off for our membership. We considered going down other paths by gathering data from other sources, but we ended up sticking to our original model. Outside sources of data can muddy the waters. What makes DataMerch successful is the fact that our information on defaults, slow pays, suspicious activity, and more, is not found anywhere else or on any other report.”
DataMerch leadership say they have made some recent major improvements including a search by legal name function, something membership has been asking for. DataMerch has also upgraded to a new and better version of their API. Further improvements are in the works for 2023.
About DataMerch
DataMerch LLC was founded in 2015 to help funders in the alternative financing industry make informed underwriting decisions. DataMerch members can screen their applications using DataMerch’s specifically designed EIN and legal name search. Members can also contribute to the database by entering unsatisfactory businesses. DataMerch currently has over 180 industry-leading subscribed members working together as a community. DataMerch can be accessed at https://www.datamerch.com and contacted for membership at support@datamerch.com
Marcus Ceases Its Lending Business, Admits They Tried to Do Too Much Too Quickly
January 23, 2023
It’s the end of an era. Marcus, an online consumer lending venture launched in 2016 by Goldman Sachs, is winding down its lending business. Rumors of the shift circulated around the media last month but last week Goldman Sachs made it official.
“We started a process to cease offering new loans on the Marcus platform,” said Goldman CEO David Solomon. “We will likely allow the book to roll down naturally, although we are considering other alternatives.”
Solomon attributed the move to the firm reorganizing itself but elaborated further when pressed.
“…we tried to do too much too quickly,” Solomon said. “And of course, in the environment that we are in, it’s hard to go back when we started in that strategy 6 years ago. We obviously built the deposit business, the loan business, and we talked about a much broader platform and I think we came to the conclusion that there were some changes.”
Solomon added that in trying to do too much, it was affecting their execution and he conceded that they didn’t have “all the talent we had needed to execute the way we wanted.”
Left unsaid about Goldman’s original motivations was a desire to compete with LendingClub, who had blazed a massive trail with peer-to-peer lending and showed the world a market of potential untapped opportunity. The two firms went head-to-head against each other for consumers and LendingClub eventually ditched peers as a source of financing and later became a bank itself. The final destination for both companies brings closure to the twenty-teens where growth of an online lending business at any cost was all the rage.
Coincidentally, The Federal Reserve is now investigating Goldman Sachs’ use of appropriate safeguards in its Marcus lending division, according to the WSJ.
The Marcus online savings account product is reportedly remaining active.
eCapital ABL North America Division Funds $95 Million in Q4 2022
January 23, 2023MIAMI – January 23, 2023 –eCapital Corp. (“eCapital” or “the Company”), a leading finance provider for businesses across North America and the U.K., issued $95M in lines of credit during the fourth quarter of 2022 through its eCapital ABL North America division. With this working capital, the companies – which include CPG products in the home and lawn categories – plan to grow their businesses by expanding product lines, scaling customer reach, and driving operational efficiency.
“Our team continued the momentum through the very end of 2022, by providing unparalleled financial solutions to our clients,” said Brian Cuttic, Chief Executive Officer Asset-based Lending at eCapital. “The dedication of our team is evident in our ability to understand and meet the unique needs of each business we serve, allowing them to achieve their goals with custom financial solutions that support their growth. We are proud to have closed out another successful year working alongside such amazing businesses and look forward to continued growth in the future.”
The businesses funded by eCapital ABL North America in the fourth quarter of 2022 include, but are not limited to:
- A $20M facility for the creators of the popular first-of-its-kind bathroom fragrance and other home fragrance products. The company will use the funding to sustain operations through peak seasons and accelerate the business for the future.
- A $35M facility for a manufacturer and distributor of watering products and accessories. Backed by a prominent private equity sponsor, the company will use the working capital from eCapital to support operations across its multiple brands and manufacturing and distribution facilities.
- A $40M facility for one of the largest candle producers in the U.S. Also backed by a private equity sponsor, it will use the line of credit from eCapital to support continued product innovation and expansion among its multiple brand names and private labels.
eCapital ABL responds quickly to a business’ unique and changing needs, whether trade cycles, seasonality, customer base or other critical factors impacting growth. With international reach and expansive expertise in multiple sectors, eCapital ABL is uniquely positioned to support businesses with customized lines of credit that provide maximum flexibility to meet their goals and achieve long-term, profitable growth.
About eCapital Corp.
eCapital is committed to accelerating access to capital for companies in the United States, Canada, and the U.K. By leveraging a team of over 800 experts and proprietary, industry-leading technology, eCapital is creating the future of business funding. With a full suite of products such as freight factoring, invoice factoring, lines of credit, asset-based lending, payroll funding, and equipment financing, eCapital ensures businesses have the funds they need to do more. Through its Transportation, Staffing, Wellness, Healthcare, Factoring and ABL divisions, eCapital delivers customized funding solutions for over 80 industries. To learn more about eCapital, visit eCapital.com.
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deBanked CONNECT MIAMI 2023 Photos
January 22, 2023Photos from deBanked CONNECT MIAMI 2023 are now online. Thank to you all the speakers, sponsors, and attendees that made the day possible.
