Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.
Articles by Sean Murray
Michael Scalise Passes Away
July 27, 2020Michael Scalise, an early entrant in the MCA industry, passed away on July 22nd. He was 40 years old. A gofundme has been set up to help his children pay for the funeral expenses.
New York State Legislature Passes Law That Requires APR Disclosure On Small Business Finance Contracts (Even If They’re Not Loans)
July 24, 2020
Factoring companies and merchant cash advance providers may be in for a rude awakening in New York. The legislature there, in a matter of days, has rammed through a new law that requires APRs and other uniform disclosures be presented on commercial finance contracts… even if the agreements are not loans and even if one cannot be mathematically ascertained.
The law also makes New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) the overseer and regulatory authority of all such finance agreements. DFS can impose penalties for violations of the law, the language says.
The bill was passed through so quickly that unusual jargon remained in the final version, increasing the likelihood that there will be confusion during the roll-out. One such issue raised is the requirement that a capital provider disclose whether or not there is any “double dipping” going on in the transaction. The term led to a rather interesting debate on the Senate Floor where Senator George Borrello expounded that double dipping might be well understood at a party where potato chips are available but that it did not formally exist in finance and made little sense to have it written into law.
Senator Kevin Thomas, the senate sponsor of the bill, admitted that there was opposition to the “technicalities” of it by some industry groups like the Small Business Finance Association and that PayPal was one such particular company that had opposed it on that basis. Senator Borrello raised the concern that a similar law had already been passed in California and that even with all of their best minds, the state regulatory authorities had been unable to come up with a mutually agreed upon way to calculate APR for products in which there is no absolute time-frame. Thomas, acknowledging that, hoped that DFS would be able to come up with their own math.
APR as defined under Federal “Regulation Z”, which the New York law points to for its definition, does not permit any room for imprecision. The issue calls to mind a consent order that an online consumer lender (LendUp) entered into with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2016 after the agency accused the lender of understating its APR by only 1/10th of 1%. The penalty to LendUp was $1.8 million.
Providers of small business loans, MCAs, factoring and other types of commercial financing in New York would probably be well advised to consult an attorney for a legal analysis and plan of action for compliance with this law. The governor still needs to sign the bill and New York’s DFS still has to prepare for its new oversight role.
Passage of the law was celebrated by Funding Circle on social media and retweeted by Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski who sponsored the bill. The Responsible Business Lending Coalition simultaneously published a statement.
Bitty Advance Has Been Acquired By Industry Veteran Craig Hecker
July 23, 2020
There’s new management over at Bitty Advance. The Fort Lauderdale-based funding company has been acquired by long-time industry veteran Craig Hecker. Hecker, who years ago founded, grew, and sold Rapid Capital Funding had originally acquired a stake in Bitty earlier this year, but in the following months purchased the remainder of the business from founders Eddie Siegel and Lenny Duvdivani.
Hecker told deBanked that under his management Bitty has committed capital that will allow the business to fund up to $10 million per month.
“I’m very excited to take my industry experience and knowledge and apply it to this segment of the MCA space,” he says.
As part of the takeover, Hecker says that he has “re-assembled his dream team of technologists and ops” that have been part of his inner-circle for nearly a decade and “were critical in building out the platform” that had made Rapid Capital Funding successful.
Bitty has historically focused on micro-advances and the company plans to really scale up its efforts in the $2,500 – $12,500 small merchant market segment with the aid of automated technology. In addition to this, Bitty has launched a new sales partner portal for ISOs. “That way [ISOs] will always know what’s going on with merchant applications,” hecker said.
New York State Legislators Resume Push of Commercial Finance Disclosure Bill
July 17, 2020
A bill (A10118A / S5470B) intended to create uniform disclosures for comparison purposes while also placing control of the commercial finance industry under the purview of the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, is moving forward.
The March 2020 initiative was picked back up this week by members of the Assembly where it passed the banking committee and codes committee on a unanimous and bipartisan basis.
“When enacted, this bill will become the strongest commercial lending disclosure law in the country that covers all commercial financing products,” wrote Ryan Metcalf, Head of US Regulatory Affairs and Social Impact at Funding Circle, on LinkedIn. “It includes strong provisions that ensures enforcement and eliminates loopholes that will prevent gaming & abuse, & requires APR to be disclosed for all products.”
Metcalf further wrote that they and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition (RBLC) have been working diligently with NY state legislators for the last year or so to craft this bill. Among RBLC’s membership is Fundera, Nav, Lendistry, LendingClub and about 4 dozen other companies.
7/17 Update: OnDeck Still Negotiating Workouts With Creditors
July 17, 2020This morning, OnDeck disclosed that it was still actively engaged in securing workout arrangements with its creditors.
For its corporate debt facility, OnDeck’s lenders consented to an additional two week extension on the increased monthly principal repayments that OnDeck is required to pay as a result of the company’s covid-impacted portfolio triggering a rapid payout event. The circumstances mean that OnDeck has to make millions of dollars in loan payments but temporary workouts like these are enabling the company to slow them down.
OnDeck’s asset-backed revolving debt facility, meanwhile, has been spared the consequences of a borrowing base deficiency under a renewed agreement to suspend any designation of such to at least through August 18th.
Layoffs At Ondeck
July 10, 2020
OnDeck issued a round of layoffs this week, new former employees report.
One said that the company had “made changes needed to navigate these unprecedented times.” The layoffs were announced on Wednesday and appear to span both the company’s New York and Denver offices.
Ironically, when deBanked sent an email to OnDeck’s head of corporate communications to obtain a comment on the news, the message was returned with an auto response that said that he too was no longer with the company.
Discussion: The State of The Industry With Matthew Washington at PIRS Capital
July 9, 2020I recently connected with Matthew Washington, the Chief Revenue Officer of PIRS Capital to get his take on the state of the industry right now and whether or not there are opportunities in the market. Video below:
Breakout Capital Weathered The Storm And Came Out With Expanded Access to Credit
July 8, 2020
Breakout Capital never stopped funding. That’s what CEO & President McLean Wilson recently shared with deBanked. The company not only weathered the storm but has come out with expanded access to credit totalling $20MM with Medalist Partners, one a current term loan facility and the other a new term loan facility with “attractive” forward flow features.
The company said in its announcement that these facilities will allow Breakout to increase loan originations across all of its product offerings, including its term-loan product, FactorAdvantage®, and its newest factor product, FactorBridge.
“Small businesses are at the core of our economy and they were, as we were, largely blindsided by recent economic interruptions,” Wilson told deBanked. “We adapted quickly and rolled with the punches and never stopped funding. It is a testament to the resiliency, loyalty and borrower first mentality that Breakout Capital has not only weathered the storm, but has strengthened our company throughout the past few months. We quickly adapted to a new way of thinking, which helped us serve our clients in real time and forge ever closer relationships with our factor partners, lenders, online marketplaces, ISOs and borrowers.”
John Slonieski, Director of Private Credit for Medalist Partners, said in the announcement that “We are pleased to enhance our relationship with Breakout Capital in our asset-based lending strategy. Their high-quality underwriting and SMB-friendly lending solutions, coupled with their talented credit and management team, provide us confidence as we continue working closely with them to successfully scale their lending program.”
