Announcements
eCapital Expands With Two Senior Hires
May 11, 2023MIAMI – May 11, 2023 – eCapital Corp. (“eCapital” or “the Company”), a leading finance provider across North America and the U.K., has reinforced its commitment to delivering specialized finance solutions to small to medium-sized businesses by recently appointing two accomplished Business Development Officers (BDOs) to its team. These new hires bring a wealth of experience to eCapital, as they serve clients across a variety of industries. With a focus on delivering customized financing options, eCapital has been able to distinguish itself in the current market conditions, leading to significant momentum for the company.
The two new hires, Matthew DeBernardo, SVP, Business Development Officer, and Bret Aaron Meuschke, SVP, Business Development Officer, will be involved in managing Factoring and Asset-based Lending transactions as part of the company’s Commercial Finance division. Bringing more than 25 years of industry knowledge, the two seasoned BDOs will prioritize meeting clients’ business and financial requirements while providing exceptional customer service.
“eCapital’s sustained expansion is drawing exceptional talent, such as Matthew and Bret, to our company because of our distinct business model and advanced technology capabilities,” stated James Poston, Chief Sales Officer at eCapital Corp. “Their specialized expertise, combined with eCapital’s extensive resources, will enable us to further elevate our capacity to deliver the quick, adaptable financing options that we are renowned for. Matthew and Bret have already demonstrated impressive results in their new positions, and we are excited to see them continue to thrive as integral members of our team.”
eCapital has been a champion of SMBs for almost two decades, harnessing its profound understanding of finance solutions and its remarkable capacity to cultivate and maintain strong business relationships. By adopting a personalized approach and promoting valuable connections with clients, eCapital offers rapid and hassle-free access to working capital, empowering SMBs to thrive and succeed.
“eCapital’s reputation in the industry along with today’s economic climate made it ideal timing to join the company and support clients in getting the financing they need,” said Meuschke. “eCapital’s business model plus the strength of the team was very attractive and something special I knew I wanted to be a part of as they continue to help solve a major pain point in the market.
“eCapital takes an innovative approach to problem-solving and supporting its customers, which is even more critical now as businesses look for options outside of traditional lending,” said DeBernardo. “I’m excited to put my background in alternative lending and expertise in government contracts to work for eCapital as we continue to support and service customers across North America, quickly getting them the funding they need, when they need it.”
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 700 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 refinancing, 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.
LoanGeek to Transform Commercial Real Estate Financing With The Launch of Exciting Platform in Summer 2023
May 5, 2023
New York, NY, May 5, 2023 – LoanGeek today officially announced that it is launching an online financing platform that connects real estate owners and investors to financing sources for all their real estate financing needs. The technology-driven solution, set to launch in the summer of 2023, is revolutionizing the commercial lending process through automation. Customers can submit basic information about their property and financing needs and will be matched with a lender that meets their criteria within minutes. Through strategic partnerships and a proprietary streamlined technology solution, LoanGeek ensures ease, efficiency, flexibility, and an elevated experience.
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of LoanGeek to provide a valuable service and meet a need in the marketplace. Our platform is a one-stop shop for all your real estate financing needs. Whether you are a real estate investor in need of financing to acquire a new property, or looking to refinance an existing one, we have you covered. We expect the platform to be live later this summer but already have a waitlist of referral partnerships,” says Chris Pepe, CEO of LoanGeek.
A New Era for Financing on the Horizon
Under the guidance of a team with more than 20 years of experience in commercial and SMB lending, LoanGeek aims to make applying for a commercial loan and finding the right lender as simple and stress-free as possible. In the past, real estate investors and property owners typically went with whatever offer they received from one lender—unaware of other potential superior options—and this longstanding problem is what LoanGeek will solve.
In building its foundation, LoanGeek puts people, relationships, and transparency at the forefront. When a customer applies through LoanGeek, they can see all options available to help them make an informed decision. Whether a customer is looking for a 50,000 fix-and-flip project or a 200- million-dollar ground-up construction, LoanGeek can accommodate all these needs.
About LoanGeek
LoanGeek is an online financing platform that connects real estate owners with financing options. Through innovative technology, the platform simplifies the loan application process for customers and helps them find the best financing options for their properties. Based in New York, LoanGeek partners with various lenders to provide customers with competitive rates and terms. For more information, visit www.loangeek.com.
Lending Valley is Now Offering Funding Up to $5 Million
May 2, 2023
Lending Valley, based in New York City, is proud to announce that we are expanding funding options for funding up to $5 million. In the years following the global pandemic, Lending Valley helped many small businesses stay afloat, giving them the capital necessary to fund payroll, purchase materials, and keep the lights on even when patronage was at an all-time low. Now, Lending Valley will offer even larger funding to small and mid-sized businesses to keep them thriving.
Since its conception, Lending Valley has offered a wide range of business funding targeted toward supporting small businesses, including the following options:
- Unsecured business funding – No collateral needed. The business owner’s ability to repay the funding is the only thing securing the funding.
- Funding for entrepreneurs with bad credit – Unfortunately, going out on a limb for business ventures can often lead to bad credit for entrepreneurs. Traditional funding won’t consider these merchants, but Lending Valley will.
- Emergency business funding – Any emergency, personal or business, can derail even the best business plan. Short-term emergency funding can prevent long-term damage.
Businesses that have benefited from Lending Valley’s services vary widely, from the film industry to convenience stores and gas stations, cannabis farms and dairy farms, to dental practices and more. Lending Valley is a different type of funder, providing custom tailored funding options. Unlike traditional funding that can take weeks to approve and fund, Lending Valley deposits cash into the business’s account within 24 hours in most cases!
About Lending Valley
Lending Valley is a FinTech company that has already funded a lot of small businesses of all types across the U.S. For all inquiries, email Clark@lendingvalley.com
WBL Secures Anchor Institutional Financing and Resumes Full Operations and Funding
April 24, 2023
World Business Lenders (WBL) is resuming funding this week and relaunching originations through its Traditional, Digital API, and ISO Express channels, following a financing arrangement announced today by WBL CEO Doug Naidus.
“I am excited to welcome our new financing partner, not only enabling WBL to resume loan origination and funding, but affording access to more lending capacity than ever before,” said Naidus. “We are eager to return to market and launch our new business model.”
Initially, WBL will prioritize funding the customers who have remained in its pipeline since December 2022 when the company temporarily paused funding. WBL will begin accepting new loan submissions from its ISO partners, with respect to which additional detail will be provided over the coming days. In parallel with accepting new submissions, WBL will roll out a full-service Digital API business model and a self-service ISO Express business model, for certain qualified ISOs. At the helm of the new business model launch is John Milligan, WBL’s Chief Operating Officer, who now heads loan production.
“The API model will enable larger ISOs to leverage a digital integration that will automatically submit merchant applications straight to WBL. The ISO Express model empowers ISOs with the ability to generate offers for their merchants directly online. Both of these digital offerings are high-growth opportunities that will maximize the earning potential of our ISO partners through a combination of speed and simplicity.” said Milligan.
To learn more about how your business can maximize profits by partnering with WBL and leveraging its new API business model, please reach out to John Milligan’s team directly at isorelations@wbl.com. Also, be sure to inquire about meeting times with the WBL team at the upcoming Broker Fair on May 8th, of which WBL is pleased to be a sponsor.
Secured Lenders Maintain Confidence Despite Inflation, Interest Rates
April 13, 2023
NEW YORK, NY, April 13, 2023 ─ Steady confidence in the asset-based lending market marked the fourth quarter, according to data released by the Secured Finance Network. Lenders maintained a positive outlook despite persistent inflation and rising interest rates.
SFNet surveyed bank and non-bank asset-based lenders (ABLs) on key indicators for its quarterly Asset-Based Lending Index and SFNet Confidence Index.
“As the U.S. economy remains under stress, the asset-based lending industry is primed to meet new demand,” said SFNet CEO Richard D. Gumbrecht. “Commitments have increased and portfolio performance remains solid. Should we see a recession, the ABL industry stands ready to provide vital working capital.”
In the most recent Confidence Index, lenders pointed to the resiliency of an industry that Gumbrecht describes as having “all weather” status. The most positive expectations were in the demand for new business, hiring and client utilization. But banks and non-banks shared low expectations around the overall business conditions.
Survey highlights
For banks, asset-based loan commitments (total committed credit lines) were up 2.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter. Outstandings (total asset-based loans outstanding) fell by 1.6%, however. Commitment runoff increased by 7.8% quarter over quarter.
“Both new commitments and commitment runoff remain well below their year-ago levels for banks reporting in Q4 2021 and Q4 2022,” the report said. “Lower new commitments and higher commitment runoff reduced net commitments in Q4, the second consecutive quarter of decline.”
Non-bank lenders, meanwhile, saw total commitments rise by 6% last quarter. Total outstandings were up, as well, by 1.7%. Compared to the same quarter last year, total commitments and outstandings for non-banks rose by 10.4% and 18.6%, respectively.
“Further, a large majority of non-banks reported increased new commitments in Q4, which grew by 277% from Q3,” the report said.
Commitments runoff dropped by 21.9% from the third quarter. A sharp rise in new commitments and decreased runoff caused net commitments for non-banks to reach their highest level since Q3 2020, the report said.
In terms of credit-line utilization for bank lenders, the rate fell to 40.1%, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline after more than a year of growth. Non-banks saw a similar trend: Their combined utilization rate dipped from a multi-year high of 59.6% in Q3 to 53.8% last quarter.
“The drop for both bank and non-bank rates suggests that the ABL industry is returning to traditional seasonal fluctuations in utilization,” the report said, “as borrowers pay down outstanding balances, they typically build up in the third quarter of the year as they prepared for the holiday shopping season.”
As for portfolio performance at the end of 2022, banks started to see movement toward “more normal levels” after record strong performance in previous quarters. For banks, criticized and classified loans, non-accruals and gross write-offs all rose in Q4 relative to Q3 but are still at levels well below historic highs. Non-banks continued to report solid portfolio performance; 30% of survey respondents reported a decrease in non-accruals quarter-over-quarter and none saw an increase.
Now, in early 2023, the U.S. economy is at a fork in the road, the report said. “A strong labor market and low energy prices could continue to propel the economy; or, persistent inflation, weak real income growth and sectoral slowdowns could prompt a recession. For now, a period of relatively weak growth is the best bet, but asset-based lending, as an ‘all-weather’ industry, is well-positioned to meet new demand in any scenario.”
Details
For more publicly available information, click here. SFNet members who participate in the surveys have access to additional data and detailed reporting.
For a broader view of ABL trends and this industry, visit SFNet’s Annual Asset-Based Lending Industry Survey for 2022.
About Secured Finance Network
Founded in 1944, the Secured Finance Network (formerly Commercial Finance Association) is an international trade association connecting the interests of companies and professionals who deliver and enable secured financing to businesses. With more than 1,000 member organizations throughout the US, Europe, Canada and around the world, SFNet brings together the people, data, knowledge, tools and insights that put capital to work. For more information, please visit SFNet.com.
Media Contact:
Michele Ocejo, Director of Communications
Secured Finance Network
mocejo@sfnet.com, 212-792-9396
John Henry to Keynote Broker Fair 2023
April 3, 2023
Entrepreneur and investor John Henry is returning to Broker Fair. He previously spoke at Broker Fair’s virtual event in 2020. At the time he was the star of the TV show ‘Hustle‘ on Viceland. He’s since co-founded LOOP and this year attendees will have the opportunity to actually see him in person.
deBanked previously interviewed Henry in 2020 when it was still believed that Broker Fair that year would be held in person. The original un-updated bio and interview have been reposted below in their entirety:
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About John Henry
Voted to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Ebony’s Power 100 lists – John Henry is a Dominican-American entrepreneur and investor. Henry started his first business at 18, an on-demand dry cleaning service for the Film and TV industry in New York City, with clients such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire, Power, and more. Henry led the company through its acquisition in 2014 — founding and selling his first business by the age of 21. On the heels of his first win, Henry launched Cofound Harlem — a non-profit incubator that aims to foster a robust tech ecosystem North of 96th street in New York City. Cofound Harlem has launched numerous high-growth companies in Harlem, gaining recognition from Fast Company, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and more. He is a former Partner at Harlem Capital, a diversity-focused early stage venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship. Henry is also the host of VICELAND’s latest show, HUSTLE, which is Executive Produced by Alicia Keys and focused on helping scrappy entrepreneurs grow their business to the next level.
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Q (Sean Murray): You started your first business at 18 but what made you want to start one?
A (John Henry): It was driven by necessity more than a desire to be an entrepreneur, but I did exhibit some of the traits that pushed me towards that path. Entrepreneurs tend to have a history of non-conformity where there’s no pre-chartered path and in an environment that demands conformity, anyone that likes to express their own views comes up against a lot of friction. So, for me it was necessity but also part of my character to do things differently.
Q: What kind of lessons did you learn from running a business at such a young age?
A: It’s a serious game and it’s full of responsibility. I was telling myself at one point that I was just 18 and so the struggles I faced running a business could be overlooked because of my age, but the world doesn’t care how old you are. If you’re running a business, there’s no way around the responsibilities it demands.
The other thing is, when you come up against really tough situations, you need to be brave and have courage to go through those moments. I’m glad I had the courage in them. Once you take them head-on, you come out feeling better on the other side.
Q: As a former partner of a Venture Capital firm, what’s the #1 mistake you saw entrepreneurs and business owners make?
A: You’ve got to have macro understanding and micro-chops. Everything is connected, it’s not just knowing your business but knowing where you’re situated in the economic or market cycle and understanding what customer sentiment is. That’s what a lot of entrepreneurs miss. Like if your idea is to make a mobile app, that’s great, but how many apps are already out there? How long have apps been part of the market already? What’s going to make your app stand out from every other app? And this doesn’t apply just to startups, but also existing companies. Every 3 months, you should be asking yourself the business question and evolve if necessary. The hardest part though is when your gut is telling you you’re right but every other person out there is telling you you’re wrong. And that’s something you’ll really have to figure out.
Q: Why has helping minority entrepreneurs and businesses been so important to you?
A: I’m not usually asked why, but I was seeing less and less minority representation among entrepreneurs that were receiving capital. There are some systemic factors that make it harder to get ahead but at the same time people can become inclusive to the point where they’re becoming exclusive. So, I think it’s about helping those that are on their way to overcoming tremendous odds to get far.
Q: Real estate, what can you tell me about your foray into that market?
A: I can say it’s the best business that I have been in so far. Real estate is the #1 fundamental building block of wealth. When I first got into it, I was shocked that you could put down 20% and the bank would put in the other 80%. This is a game of physical assets and I’m glad I came across it when I did. I’m currently building a bedrock of business around real estate, my preference being residential multi-family apartments.
New California Disclosure Rules Reduce Capital Available to Small Businesses
March 21, 2023In a poll conducted by a leading trade association, since new CA disclosure rules were implemented in December 2022, 40% of respondents were found to be “no longer lending” to prospective borrowers who fall within the regulations’ threshold of less than $500,000. The poll was conducted by The Secured Finance Network (SFNet), an 80-year-old nonprofit with members representing the $4T U.S. secured finance industry. The new law, requiring sweeping financial disclosures, introduced by CA State Senator Steven M. Glazer in 2018, faced four years of strong opposition before being rolled out in December of 2022.
According to the poll, commercial finance companies would rather not lend to small businesses than comply with what they believe are “misguided and un-compliable” requirements. Mark Hafner, president and CEO of Celtic Capital Corporation, based in Calabasas, CA, said, “Unfortunately, we must now shy away from smaller deals (under the $500k threshold) as the disclosure requirements are extremely complicated to figure out and would require getting our attorneys and CPAs involved to ensure compliance. It’s just not worth the costs involved to fund a small deal anymore. The statute is not user friendly and, frankly, not representative of the true costs as there are numerous assumptions that have to be made to calculate the APR based on the state’s requirements. I honestly don’t think it was designed to meet the stated goal of the statute.”
Robert Meyers, president of Republic Business Credit, which does business with many California-based businesses, explained, “While the fines and penalties are clear under the regulations, the state has been unwilling to confirm our compliance or anyone else’s compliance. That fear is what has stopped 40% of our non-banks from doing business in the state, thus reducing access to capital for small- and medium-sized businesses. I expect this number to increase as time goes on. If the goal of this law was to better inform, it is actually doing the opposite as APR just doesn’t apply to our products.”
SFNet reports that its member companies provide “tens of billions” of capital annually in California to small businesses for essential working capital that funds everything from inventory, to work in process to payroll.
“Forty percent of billions is a large number,” said SFNet CEO, Richard D. Gumbrecht. “In attempting to find a one-size-fits-all solution to financial transparency, the State has created a complex set of requirements that misrepresent the actual cost of borrowing. Lenders are saying it’s not worth the cost and risk of complying. If this sample of 50 lenders is indicative of what we can expect, clearly that was not the intent of the legislation. And considering the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, it’s more important than ever that capital is not restricted in California.” The trade association is working with State legislatures to revise the statute. “Other states have found a simpler and more accurate way to protect small borrowers, and given the unintended consequences we are seeing, we are hopeful California will be receptive to these alternative approaches.”
To demonstrate how vital small businesses are to the U.S. economy, and the importance of not curtailing funding, consider these statistics: According to the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), small businesses of 500 employees or fewer make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses and 99.7% of firms with paid employees. Of the new jobs created between 1995 and 2020, small businesses accounted for 62%—12.7 million compared to 7.9 million by large enterprises. A 2019 SBA report found that small businesses accounted for 44% of U.S. economic activity.
About Secured Finance Network
Founded in 1944, the Secured Finance Network (formerly Commercial Finance Association) is an international trade association connecting the interests of companies and professionals who deliver and enable secured financing to businesses. With more than 1,000 member organizations throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada and around the world, SFNet brings together the people, data, knowledge, tools and insights that put capital to work. For more information, please visit SFNet.com.
Media Contact:
Michele Ocejo, Director of Communications
Secured Finance Network
mocejo@sfnet.com, 551-999-5283
Commercial Funding Partners promotes Bailey Turner to Senior Vice President of Market Strategies
March 8, 2023
Commercial Funding Partners (CFP) has announced the promotion of Bailey Turner to Senior Vice President of Market Strategies. In this new capacity Turner will be responsible for overseeing marketing strategies and efforts to improve the company’s market positions and achieve desired business goals.
Turner joined CFP in 2017 as Business Development Officer and was quickly promoted to Vice President and subsequently Partner in the firm. During his tenure, Bailey has been a tremendous asset to the growth of the company. “Bailey’s contribution to bottom line growth of CFP has been paramount. We are excited to use his years of experience and excellent leadership skills to continue to expand our sales revenues and innovate our client experience,” said Buddy Zarbock, President of CFP.
Commercial Funding Partners is a national lender that provides businesses with no-hassle asset financing and leasing. CFP’s industry leadership and a wide array of financing products have helped its customers prosper since 1987. Please visit their website at www.com-funding.com
