Millennials’ Mind on Money Teachable Moments – …...Millennials’ Mind on Money Although it is...

Equipment Finance Sector Issue | May/Jun 2017

EQUIPMENT FINANCE SECTORS – Insider Views

Millennials’ Mind on Money

Teachable Moments – NEFA Launches Online Learning Center

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National Equipment Finance Association

*How to access, use, and contribute content to NEFA’s Online Learning Center

• Log into the NEFA website with your individual ─not your company─ log-in using either of the two log-in points indicated. If you don’t re-member your password, use the provided link to re-set or re-create a new one.

• One you’re logged-in, go to the Education tab in the big blue banner and choose ‘Online Learning Center (Members)’.

• There’s also a tutorial accessible from that menu.

• ‘Choose Course Catalog’ in the cen-ter of the main menu bar to scan or search for available courses.

• Hovering over a course will pop up a description of it.

• Be sure to take the ‘Be a Course Creator’ course to see how easy it is to share what you know.

• To access (take) any course, click on its ‘Buy Now’ button. Most courses are Free ─but going through the Buy Now process puts it in your individu-al account so you can come back to it and pick up where you left off.

• That’s it! It really is that simple!

• Once you’ve selected a course and tied it to your account, it will show up in the ‘My Learning’ tab next time you log in and you can restart it anytime by clicking it’s ‘Launch’ button.

• After you’ve taken the ‘Be a Course Creator’ course become a contributing part of the community and follow its simple steps to create one or more courses of your own. It’ll be good for you ─and good for others!

Community. Education. Professionalism.

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May/Jun 2017 NEWSLINE 1


May/Jun 2017Volume 9 Number 3

FEATURES14A WINNING SEASON FOR THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR The construction sector is abuzz with renewed optimism about what a new administration in Washington could mean for an industry still recovering from a crippling housing crisis and one of the worst recessions on record. By Eric Bunnell

16ARE BUMPY ROADS AHEAD FOR THE TRUCKING SECTOR? Experts say the worst of an extended downturn in the trucking sector is likely behind us. Newsline speaks with Dave Herring, Vice President of Sales of Marlin’s Transportation Finance Group, who says that despite the optimism, a climate of uncertainty still pervades the trucking sector.

18AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ENTERS MORE FERTILE GROUND Following years of decline, analysts are projecting that farmers will soon begin to make purchases they had deferred for years. Newsline checks in with Gabe Jarnot, SVP Business Development at Northland Capital Financial Services, to see how this environment has been impacting financiers of agricultural equipment, and whether we can expect an extended dry season, or more fertile ground ahead.

20TRANSFORMATIVE SOLUTIONS DRIVE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR TO NEW HEIGHTS As business and industry become increasingly connected, companies are devoting more resources than ever to acquiring the technological solutions to succeed in a networked world. From Big Data to cybersecurity to 3D printing, lenders and lessors are discovering opportunities to capitalize on this new reality. By RJ Grimshaw

2 NEWSLINE May/Jun 2017

14

18ALSO INSIDE...3 From NEFA’s President

4 From NEFA’s Executive Director

5 In the News…

22 neFACTS

29 NEFA Pictorial

DEPARTMENTS23 BUSINESS ECONOMICS

Advising Clients About CAPEX Evaluation Economist Samuel Weaver delivers a primer for equipment finance professionals advising clients on capital expenditure evaluation during times of economic uncertainty.By Samuel Weaver

25 CORPORATE CULTUREMillennials’ Mind on MoneyAlthough it is frequently misunderstood, the Millennial mindset can bring a host of unexpected benefits to the leasing and finance business. Learn why it’s time to leap the generation gap and embrace the momentum of America’s most innovative generation. By Michael Faltus

27 ASSOCIATION

Teachable Moments – NEFA Launches Online Learning CenterNewsline takes time out to catch up with NEFA Executive Director Gerry Egan for an update on NEFA’s new Online Learning Center, and why the core value of education is such a critical component of the association’s mission.

NEFA Newsline ©2017 is published bi-monthly by the National Equipment Finance Association. All rights reserved. The opinions and views expressed in this publication including all editorial and advertising content are not those of the National Equipment Finance Association and/or Equipment Finance Advisor, Inc. Reproduction, duplication or redistribution in whole or in part is not permitted without express written permission of the National Equipment Finance Association and Equipment Finance Advisor, Inc.

NEFA HeadquartersP.O. Box 69Northbrook, IL 60065-0069847.380.5050 Main847.380.5055 [email protected]

NEFA Executive Director & CEOGerry [email protected]

NEFA Senior Association CoordinatorKim [email protected]

Newsline Design & ProductionEquipment Finance Advisor, Inc.d/b/a Advisor Publishing Group975 Mill Road, Suite GBryn Mawr, PA 19010

Editor-in-ChiefMichael [email protected]

Associate Editor Chris [email protected]

Director of Sales & MarketingDenise [email protected]

Marketing CoordinatorTracy [email protected]

Design & Production Eliza Whitney www.elizawhitney.com


A Message from NEFA’s President

Spring is in the Air!

I’m so very excited that spring is here! I love the first few warm days of the season when you can go outside and feel the sun on your face and the breeze is gentle, with-out a touch of the bone-chilling bite we experience all winter. With the warmth and sunshine inevitably come feelings of hope and growth…and of course, spring cleaning.

This is the time of year that I feel most refreshed and motivated. The business of the holiday season is long gone, the end-of-year crunch is far away, and I’ve got a solid handful of months to accomplish things that busier times have put on hold.

One of those things is focusing on pro-fessional education. Being totally honest, I always make time to read for entertain-ment. I love to escape into a good book for an hour here and there. But I don’t always make time to read for education and pro-fessional development. I’ve often reserved much of the time I allocate toward learn-ing for conference sessions and scanning industry news outlets. And while those are both wonderful practices, I now have a growing catalog of educational sessions on our very own NEFA website available for me at any time. Have you checked it out yet? There are member-created courses with topics ranging from legal, marketing and building vendor relationships, to cre-ating secure passwords and choosing the right software.

The biggest strength of this association is its members – because members bring their knowledge and experience to share with everyone. We are fortunate to have so many members who are rich in both.

If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’re one of them. You’re taking the time to read our association publication because your knowl-edge and experience has taught you to care about this group because of the ways NEFA has enriched your business – largely through learning from your peers. So now I encourage you to give back.

What have you learned that you’re willing to share with our members? I’m guessing you’ve got a lesson or two up your sleeve that would benefit the group.

Please log onto the website and take a look at the course called “Be a Course Creator” and see how you can put your knowledge to work for the good of the group. It will take you only 10 minutes to learn how to contribute. While you’re there, take a few minutes to watch the video on the homepage that will intro-duce you to the Online Learning Center and find out how you can get involved in our Each One Teach One initiative.

I’m hopeful that spring is bringing all of you a feeling of refreshment and motiva-tion, and that we’ll see the fruit of these feelings in our educational catalog. I’m looking forward to learning from you!

Stephanie HallNEFA President

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

president STEPHANIE HALL, CLFPBLACKRIVER BUSINESS CAPITAL

vice presidentMIKE COONAMUR EQUIPMENT FINANCE

treasurerMARC KEEPMAN, CLFPKLC FINANCIAL, INC.

secretaryDENNIS DRESSLERDRESSLER & PETERS, LLC

immediate past presidentGARY SOUVEREINPAWNEE LEASING CORPORATION

board of directorsDARYN LECY, CLFPSTEARNS BANK ERIC ALLEYLEASETEAM, INC.

GABE JARNOT, CLFPNORTHLAND CAPITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC

JOE LEONARD, CLFPOAKMONT CAPITAL SERVICES

KRISTIAN DOLAN, CLFPTAMARACK

LAURA CARINI, CLFPFINANCIAL PACIFIC LEASING, INC.

NICHOLAS ROSS, CLFPBANK OF THE WEST

SHANE DAVISDEDICATED COMMERCIAL RECOVERY INC.

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS


A Message from NEFA’s Executive Director

What an incredible time it is to be sitting in the manager’s chair at NEFA! In the almost six and a half years it’s been my privilege to occupy that chair, I’ve seen the associa-tion rebuild, replenish and renew itself; but now I’m seeing its core values of Commu-nity, Education & Professionalism come to life in a whole new and exciting way.

By now I hope most of you know about NEFA’s new Online Learning Center. If

you don’t, look on the website under the Education tab and follow the tutorial to access and use it. It’s a great addition to our website. The ability to deliver the kind of member-generated training that’s so popular and effec-tive at our conferences to any member, in any place, on any day of the year, is exciting. But that’s not the most exciting part by a long shot.

Co-incident with the roll-out of the Online Learning Center, Daryn Lecy — NEFA Board Member, Vice Pres-ident of Operations at Stearns Bank, ice-fishing leader, and newly turned 40-year-old (shhhh, you didn’t hear that from me!) — has issued a challenge to the NEFA Community to match him and his team by contributing content and help get the new education initiative up and running.

What a response he got! So far, some 50 member com-panies have pledged to contribute content to the Online Learning Center before our Funding Symposium, Octo-ber 4-6, this year, in the Buckhead area of Atlanta!

That’s truly Community, Education & Professionalism - in action! Now that’s exciting!

So that’s the good news.

The not-so-good news is that’s still only about 20 percent of our member companies. What about the rest of you? How about your sense of Community? How about your passion for Education? How about your drive to raise the Profession-alism of our whole industry? I know it’s there, and NEFA now has the perfect vehicle for you to express it.

At the recent, very successful, Finance Summit in Long Beach, California, I spoke about what it means to share education on a peer-to-peer level and how that’s built-in to the NEFA Online Education Center. A video of my message is currently posted on the homepage of our web-site.

I also talked about Daryn Lecy’s E1T1 challenge and how to be a part of it. If you don’t know what E1T1 means or have forgotten it, go to the NEFA website and listen to the recorded message.

In the Association Department of this magazine, I also speak in more detail about the Online Learning Center and what it means to our members, our association, and our industry. It is not in any way an exaggeration to say that this educational initiative has the potential to be a real game changer for all three.

This is in its infancy, though, and needs your active com-mitment right now if we’re to see it grow and mature. So get onboard! It’s easy, it’s rewarding and it’s NEFA’s core values of Community, Education & Professionalism in action!

Speaking of Community, check the NEFA website often for fun networking events near you and for details com-ing soon about the Funding Symposium. Put that on your calendars for October 4-6, this year, at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel.

I’ll be giving away some prizes to some of the people there who have met their E1T1 pledges! I look forward to seeing you there!

Gerry EganNEFA Executive Director & CEO

in the NEWS



PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beacon Funding Promotes McDonough to President, Appoints

Karpel as VP of SalesBeacon Funding announced the promotion of

Toby McDonough to President and the appointment of Ken Karpel as Vice President of Sales. McDonough will be respon-sible for leading and directing the Beacon Funding team with the support of Karpel and other senior management as the company enters a period of rapid growth.

McDonough’s exemplary performance as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing has prompted his promotion to President. While McDonough directs the company, Karpel, as the new VP of Sales, will work to engage and empower Beacon’s sales team. With his expertise, the already successful sales team will continue to improve.

Karpel comes to Beacon with over a decade of sales and pro-fessional development experience. Prior to his appointment as the VP of Sales at Beacon, Karpel acted as the Assistant Vice President of Professional Development for Direct Capital. His experience and leadership abilities are welcome as the company looks for further growth opportunities in an effort to provide more small business owners with the equipment financing nec-essary to expand and profit.

Marlin Hires Sales Team Focused on Direct OriginationMarlin Business Services announced that it has hired Timothy L. Bonagura, Michael K. Stanley and Matthew D. Manning, an experienced direct sales team that will focus exclusively on offering Marlin’s full suite of credit products and services directly to Marlin’s existing small business customers.

As part of the reorganization, Marlin also promoted Mark E. Scardigli to Senior Vice President and leader of the Indirect Team and Richard J. Henderson, Jr. to First Vice President and leader of the Franchise and Direct Teams.

“Marlin has over 300,000 lifetime small business customers and is originating thousands of new small business customers per month,” said Edward J. Siciliano, Marlin’s Chief Oper-ating Officer. “I truly believe that this new structure under the leadership of Mark and Rick will create the alignment of resources and focus needed to support our small business cus-tomers as well as achieve our growth objectives.”

Key EF Promotes Gestal to Equipment Finance OfficerKey Equipment Finance announced the promotion of Dean Gestal to Equipment Finance Officer, Business Banking Team. In this role, Gestal will lead equipment financing activities in and around Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio.

Gestal joined the Key Equipment Finance Sales Accelerated Career Training (Sales ACT) program in 2016. Upon com-

pletion of the nine-month comprehensive training program designed to provide a thorough understanding of the equip-ment finance industry, Gestal began his role as Equipment Finance Officer.

AP Equipment Financing Hires Senior VP of Vendor FinanceAP Equipment Financing announced the hiring of Nick Gib-bens as Senior Vice President of Vendor Finance. Gibbens will be responsible for the exploration and development of new market segments to AP. Gibbens' primary objective is the establishment of vendor finance relationships and programs in newly targeted industry verticals with the full support of cur-rent business development, marketing, and sales teams.

Gibbens comes to AP with more than 30 years of experience in equipment-based lending and vendor finance, and has held management positions at Bank of the West, Trinity Capital Corporation, and United States Leasing Corporation.

Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance Adds BD ManagerCrossroads Equipment Lease & Finance announced Luis Rodriguez has joined the company to manage vendor rela-tionships in the Inland Empire area of Southern California. Rodriguez comes to Crossroads with experience in both the automotive and trucking industries, having previously worked at Arrow Truck Sales & Penske Automotive.

http://www.leasingsolutionsllc.com/


in the NEWS

National Equipment Finance AssociationTamarack Adds Four Industry Veterans to Support Salesforce PracticeTamarack has filled four new positions with leasing experts who will support increased demand and help implement Tam-arack’s Lease/Loan Origination Accelerator on Salesforce.

With more than 20 years of equipment finance experience, Rhonda Van Vark joins the team as Senior Business Analyst. Van Vark, a Certified Lease and Finance Professional (CLFP), brings extensive sales and software experience to the team. In her new role, she will work closely with both leasing and lend-ing clients to understand and assist them with their goals and challenges.

A finance industry veteran with 10 years of equipment finance experience, including positions at Systems Consulting Group and International Decision Systems, Kari Skogg has been pro-moted at Tamarack as Business Analyst focusing on imple-menting Salesforce for leasing clients.

A senior Salesforce developer with 15 years of software expe-rience, Ryan Hutchcroft will assume the role of Senior Devel-oper. Utilizing his two Salesforce certifications and seven years of Salesforce experience, Hutchcroft will continue to build out Tamarack’s Salesforce Lease/Loan Accelerator, in addition to developing a variety of Salesforce applications.

Bringing more than 10 years of banking/financial experience to the team, Brad Pederson will serve as Solution Architect at Tamarack. He is a senior Salesforce solution architect, hold-ing four Salesforce certificates. In his new role, Pederson will bridge the gap between business analysts and developers, while working directly with Tamarack’s clients and architect solu-tions in Salesforce.

DeBernardi Joins The Alta GroupMichael A. DeBernardi, a financial services executive with proven expertise in managing corporate growth, sales, credit risk and financial analysis, has joined The Alta Group. He pre-viously managed asset financing operations in 26 countries for a number of companies.

DeBernardi’s career reflects experience with a diverse range of financial products and industry sectors, including commercial and consumer finance, community banks, inventory financ-ing, asset-based lending and equipment leasing and financing.

As a director of The Alta Group, he will participate in cli-ent engagements involving merger and acquisition (M&A), risk management and strategic management consulting. Pre-viously, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Oritani Bank in Washington Township, N.J., where he was responsible for deposits and operations at more than two dozen branches located in four northern New Jersey counties. He became Chief Risk Officer of this $4 bil-

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lion, fully public community bank and served as a member of the bank’s board of directors for over 20 years.

In the equipment leasing and finance industry, he was a co-founder and Chief Risk Officer of US Express Leasing in Parsippany, N.J., before it was acquired by Tygris Commercial Finance (now operating as EverBank Commercial Finance). He had participated with three partners from Aternus Part-ners, LLC in preparing the small-ticket vendor financing com-pany for its business launch and then helped raise $125 mil-lion in private equity commitment from a single institutional source. DeBernardi’s career includes 18 years with AT&T Capital Corp., Newcourt Credit Group and The CIT Group in Livingston, N.J.

KLC Financial Promotes Thomas to PresidentKLC Financial promoted Spencer Thomas to President of KLC Financial, Inc. Thomas, previously Executive Vice President, will continue to lead revenue growth for the organization.

“Spencer has been a great contributor to our success and a stal-wart partner. I look forward to further contributions in his new position,” said Marc Keepman, who will remain Chair-man and CEO.

Thomas has had a successful, extensive career in financial services, with the past 18 years in the equipment leasing and financing industry. He has held leadership positions in new business development, sales and portfolio management and corporate administration. He joined KLC in September 2001 as Co-owner and Director.

Key EF Promotes Harvie to Leasing ManagerKey Equipment Finance announced that Evan Harvie has joined the industrial equipment team as Leasing Manager. In this role, Harvie will be responsible for assisting and develop-ing new finance programs, and for supporting manufacturer and vendor programs for the industrial equipment segment. Prior to joining the industrial team, Harvie served as an analyst in the company’s asset management group.

Harvie joined Key Equipment Finance in 2010 as a Collateral Service Specialist moving to asset management in 2011. Since then, he has held various positions of increasing responsibil-ity, most recently serving as Senior Equipment Analyst in asset management, a position he has held for the last two years.

BlackRiver Business Capital Hires Hall as Executive Vice PresidentBlackRiver Business Capital announced that Stephanie Hall has joined the company as Executive Vice President to further develop and grow their third-party origination relationships and business. Hall joins BlackRiver with a wealth of experi-ence within the industry, having previously served as the Vice President of Third Party Originations for Bryn Mawr Funding for more than 10 years.

President and co-founder of BlackRiver Business Capital Rob Childers said, “I am ecstatic to welcome Stephanie to

our growing organization. Stephanie has demonstrated great integrity, professionalism and acumen throughout her more than 10 years in the industry and we are confident she will be an integral part of our continued growth in the coming years. In addition, Stephanie has exhibited unwavering com-mitment to developing and fostering strong relationships with origination partners, which is especially important to us at BlackRiver Business Capital as our business is 100% third-party originated.”

Hall currently serves as President and Chairman of Board of the National Equipment Finance Association and is actively involved in the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. Hall is a graduate of Evangel University in Spring-field, Missouri.

KLC Promotes Smith to Lead Equipment Finance Credit and OperationsKLC Financial announced that Shannon Smith has been pro-moted to Vice President. Smith will continue to be responsible for leading KLC’s equipment finance credit and operations divisions.

Smith has had a successful career in the financial services industry with over 15 years of experience. He has been with KLC Financial for 9 years. He started in January of 2008 as Credit Manager and has worked to oversee the credit, funding, and operations side of the business. His prior work experience was in the larger banking sector, where he held sales and credit underwriting positions.

http://www.gaig.com/equipmentinsurance

in the NEWS



Alabama - Marks & Associates, P.C.

Arizona - Jennings, Haug

& Cunningham, LLP

Arkansas - Hood and Stacy, P.C.

California - Los Angeles - Hemar,

Rousso & Heald, LLP

San Francisco - Cooper, White & Cooper, LLP

Colorado - Harry L. Simon, P.C.

District of Columbia - Weinstock,

Friedman & Friedman, P.A.

Florida - Miami Beach - Mitrani, Rynor,

Adamsky & Toland P.A.

Georgia - Marks & Associates

Hawaii - Kessner Umebayashi Bain

& Matsunaga

Illinois - Ashen/Faulkner LTD

Iowa - Witt Law Offices

Kansas - Young, Bogle, McCausland,

Wells & Blanchard

Louisiana - McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC

Maryland - Weinstock, Friedman

& Friedman, P.A.

Massachusetts - Cohn & Dussi, LLC

Michigan - Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Minnesota - Messerli & Kramer, P.A.

Missouri - Jenkins & Kling, P.C.

New Jersey - West Orange - Chiesa

Shahinian & Giantomasi

Voorhees - Howard N. Sobel, P.A.

New York - New York City - Foster &

Wolkind, P.C.

North Carolina - Raleigh - Smith Debnam

Oklahoma - Hood and Stacy, P.A.

Oregon - Farleigh Wada Witt

Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh - Bernstein -

Burkley, P.C.

Rhode Island - Cohn & Dussi, LLC

South Carolina - Bunch Law LLC

Texas - Fort Worth - Padfield & Stout, LLP

Houston - Wright Law Group, PLLC

Utah - Ray Quinney & Nebeker, P.C.

Virginia - Weinstock, Friedman &

Friedman, P.A.

West Virginia - Bernstein-Burkley, P.C.

Wisconsin - Quarles & Brady, LLP

Murphy Desmond, S.C.

Wyoming - Harry L. Simon, P.C.

CANADA

Quebec - Lavery, De Billy, LLP

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Krieger Joins Key EF as VP, Bank ChannelKey Equipment Finance announced that Susan Krieger has joined the company as Vice President, Bank Channel. In this role, Krieger will support KeyBank commercial banking teams in western Pennsylvania and Erie, as well as support Key Equipment Finance healthcare initiatives throughout Pennsyl-vania and eastern Ohio.

Prior to joining Key Equipment Finance, Krieger was Vice President for F.N.B. Corporation. She has held senior level

positions with FirstMerit Bank, Citizens Bank and LINC Cap-ital Inc. throughout her extensive career in equipment finance.

Sterling National Bank Appoints Managing Director for Public Sector FinanceSterling National Bank, the principal subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp (STL), announced that Mark Cargo has joined the bank's Public Sector Finance team as Managing Director and Vice President. Cargo will report to Michael Horkey, Senior Managing Director at Sterling.

Cargo will be responsible for managing and developing loan portfolios, deposits and other products and services. He will also focus on business development and client cross-sell activ-ities and support underwriting, portfolio administration and

cash management functions.

Cargo was most recently a regional manager with Oracle Financing, where he was responsible for sales in the public sector, higher education, and healthcare markets. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President and Regional Sales Manager with SunTrust Equipment Finance and Leasing Corp., where he lead a top-pro-ducing team in the public finance sector which also included a higher education specialty market. Cargo has also held positions with IBM Global Finance, Hewlett Packard Financial Services and Key Equipment Finance.

Key Government Finance Adds VP, Municipal Vendor SalesKey Equipment Finance announced that Dan Fry has joined the company as Vice President, Municipal Vendor Sales. In this role, Fry will lead sales efforts for the company’s municipal ven-dor account executives and inside sales team, as well as support sales efforts throughout the KeyBank footprint and in direct municipal markets.

Fry brings more than 25 years of experi-ence in public sector finance to his new position. Prior to joining Key Equip-ment Finance, he worked for Cisco Capital, leading all state, local and edu-cation sales nationally as Regional Sales Manager. Previously, he held positions of increasing responsibility with Banc One Leasing ChiCorp Financial Ser-vices and GTE Financial.

Marlin Names McGurk as VP of Indirect FundingMarlin Business Services announced the promotion of Kathleen M. McGurk to

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McGurk will assume responsibility for the recently acquired Horizon Keystone Financial Group, an acquisition that extends Marlin’s equipment finance business into new mar-kets. She will also continue to lead the IFP channel and Alli-ance Development for Marlin’s equipment finance and Fund-ing Stream working capital loan program.

McGurk has had a successful, extensive career in financial ser-vices, with more than 25 years of experience in strategic plan-ning, sales and new business development. She joined Marlin in August 2015 as Assistant Vice President, IFP and Alliance Development. Previously, McGurk held several management positions at DLL, with responsibility for overseeing equip-ment finance programs with banks and wealth management firms. Prior to DLL, she was Vice President of Broker Services and Vice President of Direct Lessee Marketing at Advanta Business Services.

North Mill Equipment Finance Names New CEO, Announces Promotions David Lee has been named as Chairman and CEO of North Mill Equipment Finance. Lee is also CEO of Colford Capital, North Mill’s parent company. Lee has over 30 years of financial services experience. Previously, Lee served as President of D.B. Zwirn & Co., a $6.5 billion AUM alternative asset manager and was the founding Managing Partner of Saturn Venture Partners and a Partner with the private equity firm of Sandler Capital. Lee began his career as an investment banker, most recently serving as a Managing Director at Lazard.

Josh Rothman has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In his new capacity, Rothman will be responsible for directing North Mill’s daily operations, including marketing, credit, and technology infrastructure. Rothman joined North Mill’s predecessor company, Equilease, in 2003 as an analyst and has been involved in all aspects of the company’s management and operations, including marketing program development, credit policy & procedures, asset man-agement, capital markets, financial reporting, portfolio man-agement, documentation, restructuring, insurance, titling, and portfolio acquisition.

Mark Bonanno has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining North Mill in the summer of 2016 as the company’s CFO, he was Chief Finan-cial Officer at Advantage Funding and previously spent six-teen years at General Electric in various financial management roles, including Finance Manager of the Corporate Initiatives Group, CFO of Xerox Capital Services and Operational Con-troller of GE Energy Financial Services.

Dana Bowman has been promoted to Vice President of Port-folio Accounting. Reporting to the company’s Chief Finan-cial Officer, Bowman is responsible for managing a team that handles the process of booking and accounting for new lease and loan transactions, monitoring the status of all portfolio

accounts and processing their monthly payments. She joined North Mill’s predecessor company, Equilease, in 1997 as a staff accountant and has been involved in all aspects of the compa-ny’s portfolio accounting.

Patricia Matthews has been promoted to Assistant Vice Presi-dent, Portfolio Management, responsible for leading a team of Portfolio Managers. She joined North Mill’s predecessor com-pany, Equilease, in 2004 in the remarketing department as the administrative coordinator and a remarketer. She then worked in marketing for several years, becoming one of the top sales-people in the company, and subsequently worked in the com-pany’s legal collections and enforcement division. Matthews’ previous experience in the leasing industry was with Neptune Computer Group and HBSC.

Anthony Pontonio has been promoted to Assistant Vice Presi-dent of Sales, Marketing and Customer Relationship Manage-ment responsible for managing North Mill’s business referral flow programs, the account management team and the cus-tomer service group. He is also responsible for developing, maintaining, and marketing relationships with the compa-ny’s third-party referral sources. Prior to joining North Mill in 2015, Anthony held various positions in the equipment finance industry with GE Capital, IBM Global Financing, and Pitney.

Aroub Bayazid has been promoted to Manager of Restruc-turing – Portfolio Management, responsible for assisting and

https://www.stearnsbank.com/nefa


in the NEWS

National Equipment Finance Associationresolving customer issues related to their equipment finance contracts. She joined North Mill’s predecessor company, Equilease, in 2007, as a Credit Analyst and, subsequently as an Assistant Portfolio Manager; she also spent two years as a Credit Analyst at Citicapital.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Marlin Launches New Financing Program With NewTekMarlin Business Services announced it has entered an agree-ment with NewTek, Inc., a change-agent in the video industry that is leading the shift to IP video workflows. Marlin will pro-vide financing options for NewTek customers throughout the United States.

The new strategic alliance will enable NewTek customers to acquire the latest video production solutions, while taking advantage of Marlin’s convenient financing process, industry expertise and exceptional customer service.

Tamarack Implements Salesforce.com Lease/Loan Origina-tor for Channel PartnersTamarack has added Channel Partners Capital as its newest client to utilize Tamarack’s Lease/Loan Origination Accelerator on Salesforce.

Channel Partners will benefit from added flexibility, streamlined operations and enhanced audit controls, as a result of using Tamarack’s Lease/Loan Origination Accelerator on Salesforce.

“We are thrilled to work with Tamarack and their Salesforce service to continue to support the growth of our partners and borrowers,” said Brad Peterson, founder and managing mem-ber at Channel Partners. “Offering our clients an improved partner experience and the flexibility to customize function-ality to meet their specific needs, is just one more way we’re breaking down the financing barriers that our clients might traditionally find.”

Tamarack’s Lease/Loan Origination Accelerator on Salesforce is a scalable solution offering users the ability to automate work queues, increase throughput of loans without additional head count, and customize notifications from lead generation through to funding.

“Our Salesforce Lease/Loan Origination Accelerator can be used to streamline implementation by incorporating many of the fea-tures lenders need,” said Kristian Dolan, solution architect at Tamarack. “And, Channel Partners is a prime example of how this technology can be leveraged to help businesses grow.”

Ascentium Capital Reports 25.5% Y/Y Increase in Funded VolumeAscentium Capital announced first quarter funded volume reached $225.1 million representing 25.5% growth and man-

aged $1.6 billion in assets, represent-ing a 37.7% increase year over year in the first quarter of 2017.

Ascentium Capital also experienced a record month in March, with $259.6 million in credit application volume. Tom Depping, Chief Executive Offi-cer of Ascentium Capital commented, “Our financial relationship platform powers our performance. We continue to scale our operations and integrated infrastructure to deliver positive busi-ness outcomes that benefit our equip-ment vendors and small business cli-ents nationwide.”

“Our momentum demonstrates the demand for our equipment financing programs and broad financial product offering. This will continue to drive our strong performance throughout 2017,” remarked Richard Baccaro, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Ascentium Capital.

First American EF Announces 46% Growth in New Business VolumeFirst American Equipment Finance announced that in fiscal 2016, the

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company grew new business volume by 46%, which is the company’s fourth straight year of greater than 25% growth. New business grew to $605 million in 2016.

First American added 30 new positions last year, growing from 160 employees to 190 – and the company is continuing to hire new talent, expecting to expand by 25 new positions in 2017. Forty percent of the newly-hired employees in 2016 were the result of employee referrals.

Ascentium Capital Ranked as Top Private IndependentAscentium Capital was recognized as the largest private inde-pendent finance company in annual funded new business vol-ume by Monitor. Ascentium Capital rose from third place to first in the rankings during 2016, with year-end funded vol-ume reaching $898.5 million.

Tom Depping, Chief Executive Officer of Ascentium Capital commented, “We made impressive progress growing Ascen-tium since our founding just over five years ago. We are hon-ored to be ranked as the largest independent finance company, which is a testament to the strength of our platform and the dedication of our employees who deliver exceptional service and support to our small business customers. We will remain focused on expanding our reach in specialized markets includ-ing franchise, healthcare, petroleum and technology while continuing to invest in new products and technology to fur-ther enhance the financing experience.”

Fleet Financing Resources Reports 2016 Year End ResultsFleet Financing Resources, LLC. (FFR) announced its finan-cial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Over-view for 2016 as compared to the prior year:

• Finance income increased 22% to $5.4 million.

• Net Income increased 31% to $1.9 million.

• Total origination volume $75 million, up 32%.

Commenting on the year-end audited results, Dave Reynolds, President and CEO said, “We are extremely pleased with our 2016 results, the best in the 15 year history of Fleet Financing Resources. Record year outcome is consistent with the increase in finance and net income. Our success is attributed to the continued focus on our existing portfolio, the constant drive to expand our customer base and the tireless effort of our out-standing team of seasoned professionals. We are energized and focused to achieve our goals in 2017 – to continued measured growth of good quality business, maintaining exceptional portfolio performance, and continuing to build our brand as a leader in the titled transportation finance sector.”

Navitas Credit Corp. Launches My Navitas HDNavitas Credit Corp. announced the launch of its iOS tablet platform, My Navitas HD, designed to provide 24X7 support for its financing customers.

My Navitas HD allows immediate access to the Navitas ser-vicing portal utilizing almost any iPad tablet device. With this Helping You get tHere. greatamerica.

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latest release, Navitas customers can manage their accounts via their browsers, iOS and Android mobile devices (My Navitas Mobile).

Gary Shivers, President and CEO of Navitas added, “The My Navitas offering is designed to provide our customers with unlimited servicing capabilities utilizing the technology plat-form they are most comfortable with. Whether our custom-ers use an office -based desktop or prefer the portability of a mobile or tablet based solution, we have given our customers the control they need to access support whenever and however they choose. Throughout 2017, we will continue to deploy innovative solutions, making Navitas the technology leader in our industry.”

Cloud Lending Solutions Ends 2016 With 100% Y/Y GrowthCloud Lending Solutions announced that it closed its latest financing round led by Cota Capital, with all existing investors participating. The proceeds will be used to continue its global expansion and to further develop its industry-leading lending platform.

Cloud Lending Solutions was founded in 2012 and is the lending industry's only cloud-based, end-to-end loan and leas-ing platform built natively on Salesforce, the world's #1 CRM company. Cloud Lending Solutions has more than 2,800 lend-ing users in over 23 countries, who use its products to run all, or part of, their origination, underwriting, servicing and collections lending operations.

Cloud Lending Solutions’ continued growth has been driven by increased demand among global lending companies in North America, Europe, and AsiaPacific. Building on this momen-tum, Cloud Lending Solutions will use the additional financing to continue expanding its global reach, to accelerate product growth and innovation, to invest in additional sales and market-ing resources, and to evaluate strategic partnership opportunities.

“We have seen our business accelerate dramatically since our launch in 2012,” said Snehal Fulzele, CEO of Cloud Lending Solutions. “Every day, more companies realize that the cloud computing model empowers the global lending community. Banks, Lessors, and AltFi institutions can grow their lending and leasing business leveraging digitization, resulting in rapid product delivery and increased operational and compliance efficiencies. This capital gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and deliver on our vision around the world.”

ECONOMY

Niches Will Drive Small Business Lending in 2017PayNet conducted a recent study to project bank lending hot spots in 2017. According to the report, loan risk premiums should move up overall to reflect the higher projected default rates of 2.1% in 2017.

PayNet’s data shows 2017 lending strategy must be built around finding niche markets that offer growth as the overall trend:

C&I Sectors Exhibiting Growth Over the Next Few Quarters

• Businesses in administrative services are seeking credit; this is one of the few sectors showing decent growth at 8.1% (Jan-uary 2017 vs. January 2016), however with credit risk rising above average to 2.4%.

• Businesses in the entertainment industry appear to be expanding, with borrowing up 14.3%. (January 2017 versus January 2016), offering below average credit risk at 1.5%.

C&I Sectors with Limited Growth or Increased Risk Over the Next Few Quarters

• Banks may not find much growth from transportation loans, as this industry is slowing dramatically.

• Growth in the construction industry should be weighed against credit risk, as default rates are forecast to increase from 2.1% in 2016 to 2.4% in 2017.

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• Agriculture, while not appearing to be borrowing more, shows 2017 default rates below average, allowing banks to get a bit more aggressive with this sector.

• Manufacturing credit risk is projected to be slightly below average at 2.0%.

• Professional services companies’ default rates increased 30 bps to 2.0% in 2016 and are projected to moderate slightly to 1.9% in 2017.

• Wholesale businesses will continue to shrink in 2017 as long as the commodity sector remains weak.

• Big retail market loan growth has been declining over the past 2 years; defaults are expected to rise to the 2.1% level.

• Even though the oil rig count has recently increased, mining businesses are not substantially increasing their borrowings.

CERTIFIED LEASE & FINANCE PROFESSIONALSFOUNDATION

CLFP Foundation Adds 15 New CLFPsThe Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) Foun-dation announced that the 15 individuals who recently sat through the 8-hour online CLFP exam, have successfully passed. Six attended the most recent Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals hosted by Patriot Capital Corporation in Atlanta, GA late last month.

• Kim Adair, CLFP – Vice President of Finance and Account-ing, Amur Equipment Finance

• Mike Borelli, CLFP – Vice President of Sales, Patriot Capital Corporation

• Alexander Goyins, CLFP – Director of Market Develop-ment, DLL

• Michele Hiscock, CLFP – Lead Account Representative, Northland Capital Financial Services

• Angie Jensen, CLFP – Collections Manager, Amur Equip-ment Finance

• Bill King, CLFP – Vice President/Equipment Finance Spe-cialist, Bancorp South Equipment Finance

• Zack Miller, CLFP – Assistant Vice President – Project Manager, First American Equipment Finance

• Mary Jo McCormick, CLFP – Lead Account Representative, Northland Capital Financial Services

• Greg Pabich, CLFP – Director of Business Development, Northland Capital Financial Services

• Jason Peryea, CLFP – Senior Financial Analyst, First Ameri-can Equipment Finance

• Chris Santy, CLFP – President, Patriot Capital Corporation

• Ellyn Schueller, CLFP – Account Representative, Northland Capital Financial Services

• Christopher Shifflet, CLFP – Senior Financial Analyst, First American Equipment Finance

• Cassandra Smith, CLFP – Account Representative, North-land Capital Financial Services

• Brooke Thompson, CLFP – Financial Analyst, First Ameri-can Equipment Finance

McCormick, one of nine CLFPs at Northland Capital Finan-cial Services stated, “Being in the industry over 20 years, I knew there was much more to learn. Taking the CLFP course has provided me better insight to the many aspects that drive our business. I have full appreciation of the CLFP designa-tion and am excited to share my experience, commitment and added value with my customers, partners and co-workers.”

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Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. Growing up on a family farm, I enjoyed helping plant the crops and was optimistic we would produce good yields. I am also an avid sports fan, so spring marks the beginning of baseball season.

This spring break I took a family vaca-tion to Arizona to take in some spring training baseball games. As I walked the

practice fields and visited with fans, I heard a lot of optimis-tic statements. I was reminded of my childhood memories of watching the Kansas City Royals and believing they had a chance to win a championship every year. As a kid I wasn’t aware of all the contracts and the business side of the sport; I just grew up watching men play a game I enjoyed. I loved seeing their confidence and dreams of victory as they stepped onto the field.

At spring training this year, I attended one game between the Royals and the Chicago Cubs. This game matched up the last two World Series champions. It was sold out and the atmo-sphere felt more like a regular-season game than an exhibition.

Prior to 2014 these teams struggled to win, but every spring, fans and players hoped for a better season than the last. This year’s spring training match-up had more than 15,000 fans celebrating recent victories with optimism for another cham-pionship run in 2017.

I can relate these statements of optimism to the current status of the construction equipment industry. Both the construc-tion industry and the aforementioned baseball teams have had struggles in recent years, but spring 2017 is looking like a sea-son of optimism. Based on some of the recent survey results from industry experts, it appears more construction compa-nies are financing and purchasing equipment. Every time I see articles or news relating to the construction industry, there are mostly positive sentiments.

I have talked to several different dealerships and commercial lenders, and most of them have experienced an increase in business in regards to construction equipment financing. One commercial lender that specializes in new home construction told me he has seen some areas experiencing a shortage of new home inventory. Many builders and sellers are receiving full-price offers and some are happening in a matter of days, not months. This is creating an increase in housing permits and

Eric BunnellArvest Equipment Finance

A Winning Season for the Construction Sector

The construction sector is abuzz with renewed optimism about what a new administration in Washington could mean for an industry still recovering from a crippling housing crisis and one of the worst recessions on record. With promises of an infrastructure spending boom on the horizon – the president of Arvest Equipment Finance says the construction sector is one step away from a home run. By Eric Bunnell


allowing those contractors to purchase additional equipment to keep up with demand.

Some areas are even starting to develop new subdivisions again due to lack of inventory. I have driven by several fields that sat vacant for many years, but now show early signs of infrastructure progress. These areas will need new streets for lots that will be developed in the near future.

According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Census Bureau, newly built single-family homes sold in 2016 totaled 563,000, up 12.2 percent from 2015. According to an analy-sis of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by the Associated Builders and Contractors, there were 36,000 national construction jobs added in January. This was a 0.5 percent increase and represents the best month of growth for construction employment since March 2016.

As for dealerships, many are seeing an increase in sales. Those that have attended trade shows are noticing a positive attitude and a willingness to buy. Some dealers are even experiencing a delay in getting some of the equipment from the manufac-turers and currently have a shortage. There are many com-panies looking to lease instead of purchase, as they have put off replacing equipment the past few years, while some are still taking the wait-and-see approach. This optimism is also having an effect on rentals, as they remain stable. The rental market is projected to exceed $75 billion by 2024, according to Global Market Insights, Inc.

Some construction companies are experiencing an increase in their backlog of work, with a few already on pace to out-perform 2016. As I have traveled across the country over the past several months, I have noticed more construction proj-ects underway. During our family road trip, I noticed orange barrels out on multiple roads and interstates. Many areas had commercial projects under construction or being developed. Some of these projects had been put on hold for several years, so it was a good sign to see all this activity, especially for the private sector.

After reviewing recent auction results, it appears most yellow iron is holding its value, according to many in the industry. Many expect used equipment sales to remain strong as com-panies begin to replace existing equipment with used instead of new equipment. As long as the current asking prices for new equipment remain steady or increase, so will the fair-mar-ket value for the used equipment because the values are driven by demand for that equipment.

There is still much to be decided as the new administration of President Donald Trump works on a budget, and irons out an infrastructure initiative for roads and bridges, tax reform and the reform of environmental regulations. These could all affect the construction sector through 2017 and beyond. For now, most of the people associated with the construction equip-ment industry are positive. But even with all of the optimism, it is still imperative to meet all the credit underwriting criteria and not lower standards during this cycle. Even world cham-pion baseball teams are created with hard work, sweat, and high standards.

During my favorite season of spring, I am excited about the possibilities and opportunities for the construction industry this year. As I reflect back on those spring training baseball fields, I think of the many wonderful quotes from Babe Ruth. One in particular stands out: “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”

The construction industry has had a few strikes over the years, but let’s continue to be optimistic that as we grow and manage risks, we’re about to hit our own home run.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Eric Bunnell, CLFP, is President of Arvest Equipment Finance.


“For now, most of the people associated with the construction equipment industry are positive. But even with all of the optimism, it is still imperative to meet all the credit underwriting criteria and not lower standards during this cycle. Even world champion baseball teams are created with hard work, sweat, and high standards.”


Are Bumpy Roads Ahead for the Trucking Sector?Recent data shows that sales of Class 8 trucks spiked in January following months of decline, reflecting a glimmer of optimism as a new administration takes root in Washington, D.C. Experts say the worst of an extended downturn is likely behind us. Dave Herring, Vice President of Sales of Marlin’s Transportation Finance Group, agrees with that sentiment. But he warns that a climate of uncertainty – including the potential impact of global events on diesel prices – still pervades the trucking sector.

A long-time industry veteran, Dave Her-ring has held executive roles in transpor-tation financing with GE Capital, Asso-ciates Commercial Equipment Finance Corporation and CIT. He has also been active with the American Trucking Asso-ciation and American Truck Dealers Asso-ciation. Herring joined Marlin in June 2016 to head up the company’s transpor-tation initiative. Newsline sat down with Herring to discuss his thoughts on the

trucking sector outlook for 2017.

Newsline: According to a recent report from ACT Research, Class 8 net orders jumped to a 13-month high in January. ACT stated they believe that Q2-Q3 2016 marked the bottom of the current cycle in demand for new Class 8 equipment. Would you agree with this statement? What are the major fac-tors driving increased demand for tractors/trailers?

Dave Herring: From the dealer side, yes, I believe that the worst is behind us, but I think that the optimism for 2017 needs to be guarded. The news coming out of ACT Research is being viewed with a lot of skepticism and caution. The larg-est transportation companies are placing large Class 8 orders for the first time in a while and that is where we believe a large portion of the truck orders are coming from. The big-gest reason for that, outside of the demand for new trucks, is the trade values are now higher than they were a year ago. I was in Atlanta recently and visited several different dealers and they feel that used equipment values have bottomed out and we’re starting to see just a bit of an incline depending upon the OEM.

Newsline: Please tell our readers the parameters you use to classify a trucking fleet as small/medium-sized.

Herring: A small fleet would be a small company with five or more power units and up to between 75 and 250 units at

maximum. Above that you’re working with the larger play-ers. From our perspective, a company with less than 75 power units and trailers is considered a small fleet.

Newsline: The used equipment market is growing according to various reports. Why are transportation companies willing to acquire older equipment considering that the increased maintenance and regulatory burdens can be so costly?

Herring: There are some operators that would never buy a new truck. They just prefer to buy a unit in the $100-120,000 range. Today, operators can get a one-year extended warranty and in some cases even two years. These operators already know how to work on certain brands of trucks and they often also stock some of the parts needed to maintain the equip-ment. There are clearly benefits of maintaining a common fleet, but in some cases they can achieve better fuel efficiency from a new truck. Another challenge is that these companies just can’t get the capital necessary for new trucks, so they’re in some ways forced to buy used trucks.

Newsline: As a finance company specializing in providing financing through dealers, how have dealer financing program requirements changed over the past few years? What is most important to dealers besides a competitive interest rate?

Herring: The biggest change in the dealer world is that the responsibilities of the Finance and Insurance (F&I) manager have changed – leading to a change in their expectations from their financing partners. The primary objective of an F&I per-son is to sell trucks – and to sell a truck today. The F&I person needs five or six different lenders to partner with on a weekly, or even daily basis. Prior to the crisis, an F&I manager usually got by with two finance partners, one of which would be a captive or a larger partner like GE Capital. Now if you can come in and present yourself as what I call a “boutique lender” and specialize in a particular equipment type, you will get a seat at the table with the F&I person. Today the F&I man-agers need to understand each finance source’s credit under-

Dave HerringTransportation Finance GroupMarlin Equipment Finance


past. So smaller operators can now go from 3-4 trucks to 4-5 trucks, or maybe 5-7 more easily. Another factor is that sup-pliers want to diversify their freight providers so they’re not exposed to the biggest transportation players dictating freight costs. Suppliers don’t want the biggest players to dominate, so they’re going to make sure the smaller transportation compa-nies always have a place at the table. As a result, the owner/operator market is alive and well today. The ones that survived the recession certainly deserve some credit from my perspec-tive.

Newsline: What is your overall outlook for the transportation industry over the next 12-18 months?

Herring: Bumpy. I think there’s just too much going on in Washington right now. There is a bit of uncertainty about what kind of regulatory changes might be coming, and insta-bility in the global markets with what’s going on with Rus-sia. A lot depends on where diesel prices are heading. As for small- and medium-sized fleet owners and operators – I’m just not seeing those guys rushing out to their local dealership and placing an order for a new truck. And until things settle down, and the economy gets a little stronger, I think they will be taking a wait and see approach. There will be somebody else out there who hears something different, but I’ve talked to a lot of different dealers, a lot of different OEMs and manufac-turers, and that’s the consensus. Having said that, the truck market will carry on as an integral part of our economy and Marlin will continue to play an important role in supporting our dealer customers.


writing appetite – so they need sources to underwrite A, B, C, and D credits as opposed to just an A or B credit. That’s why Marlin has been successful – because we’ve been able to offer very competitive rates while also providing the same kind of service Marlin provides in other finance channels. That means a fast turnaround time. So, while we are a little more selective, the F&I person knows they are going to get their transactions completed very quickly.

Newsline: From a structuring standpoint – and from the dealer perspective of working with smaller fleet operators – what financing structures are you seeing today? For example, a common term was a six- or seven-year deal for a trailer and a five-year deal for a tractor. Is that still holding?

Herring: For the type of customer that we are targeting, the primary need is loans. Today, 72 months is the standard term for new trucks, and we’re doing 60 months on three- or four-year old trucks.

Newsline: Considering there are two basic equipment demand cycles – replacement and expansion – which cycle would you say we are in at this time?

Herring: I believe it’s a blend. Small- and medium-sized fleets now have more equipment than they have ever had and the biggest reason for that is the barrier to entry for a small fleet is lower than it’s been in years due to the fact that big fleet operators trade in equipment and don’t get the best value on their trades. This allows the smaller operators to get equip-ment $10,000 cheaper, or even more than they would in the



Newsline: The agricultural sector has experienced some large swings in equip-ment demand over the past few years. What does the demand for agricultural equipment look like today?

Gabe Jarnot: When many of the mar-kets for commercial equipment were down 5-9 years ago, the agriculture sector was up. Now it has flipped as commercial equipment demand has

come back and the agricultural market is in a down cycle. The demand for agricultural equipment has definitely softened over the last few years. We have heard that sales for some agri-cultural manufacturers were down as much as 40 percent last year. Our hope is that the current cycle is at or near bottom and we will start to see farm incomes improve moving forward. The hardest hit segments have been the high-dollar value and high-horsepower equipment markets. In the past, strong farm incomes, the tax incentives of Section 179, and Bonus Depre-ciation were in place all at the same time – creating a per-fect scenario to upgrade equipment. Today there aren’t many incentives to upgrade those late-model, higher-cost pieces of equipment. We are seeing that reflected in inventory levels on dealer lots with four-wheel drive tractors and combines. We see equipment acquisition today as very strategic, favoring equipment that will help control costs, improve efficiency and productivity, and farm storage capacity (e.g. grain bins).

Newsline: What is the most important factor for farmers seeking financing via a vendor-finance program today – low

interest rates, seasonal payment plans, longer term financing? What do these lessees/borrowers expect from their vendor-fi-nance provider?

Jarnot: Agricultural lending has always been very competi-tive, especially within the captives, the farm credit associations and local agriculture-focused community banks. With the current low-commodity price market, farmers have focused on better managing production costs. This has made the equipment finance market even more competitive in terms of pricing, as lenders are competing for lease and loan volume in an environment of softened demand. Liquidity and cash flow have been some of the biggest challenges facing many of our customers. Therefore, we have also seen an uptick in tax and operating leases due to the benefits of lower upfront cash requirements, lowered monthly or annual payments, and flex-ible/structured terms. Vendors expect to have programs that help meet those needs of cost control, liquidity and cash flow with speed, simplicity and high application-only thresholds.

Newsline: From your perspective, are we in a “replacement cycle” or an “expansion cycle” in the agricultural community? Please explain.

Jarnot: We are not in an expansion cycle and it’s probably a little early to call it a replacement cycle. From our perspective, I would call it a “what’s most critical” cycle. What we hear in speaking with our customers is that they are looking at equip-ment purchases based on what absolutely needs to be replaced to avoid costly repairs and downtime, as well as what must be added to improve efficiency and productivity.

Gabe JarnotNorthland Capital Financial Services

Sharp declines in net farm income due to lower commodity prices since 2013 have put pressure on producer margins and led to belt-tightening throughout the American heartland. However, analysts are now projecting that farmers will soon begin to make purchases they had deferred for several years. Newsline checked in with Gabe Jarnot, SVP Business Development at Northland Capital Financial Services, to see how this environment has been impacting financiers of agricultural equipment, and whether we can expect an extended dry season, or more fertile ground ahead.

Agricultural Sector Enters More Fertile Ground


Newsline: Overall, what is your outlook for the agricultural sector as it pertains to CAPEX demand over the next 12-18 months? How will rising interest rates impact farmers and potentially influence equipment-purchasing decisions?

Jarnot: The feedback we are getting from some of our man-ufacturer relationships is that they are forecasting modest growth for 2017 and 2018. Again, it is in areas where equip-ment will improve efficiency, boost productivity and save on labor costs that we will see the most activity. Those farmers that have little leverage and good liquidity are in a position to take advantage of some good buys on equipment today because of dealer inventory levels and manufacturer incentive programs. As commodity prices drop, declines in input costs like seed, fertilizer, and land rents tend to lag, and that is where farmers have experienced the squeeze the last couple of years. It seems some of those costs did come down last year. But depending on the level of borrowing needed by the farmer, rising inter-est rates could affect purchases over the next 12-18 months. Besides interest rates, everyone will be keeping an eye on the trade policies of the new administration, and the strength of the U.S. dollar, both of which could affect exports of Ameri-can-grown products.

Newsline: Do you notice different CAPEX approaches between traditional family-run farms and large agri-busi-nesses? Do they acquire and finance equipment differently?

Jarnot: One of the biggest differences I see is that on the tradi-tional family farm you are most often working with the princi-pal owner of the operation and they may be the one operating the equipment as well. The line of communication is much clearer on determining specific needs and structuring terms. It is more relational. In the larger operations, we may be work-ing with a farm manager just gathering information, or an office/finance person, or even preparing terms for what could be like a board decision-making process. So the equipment and finance decision process is much different. Often we are not able to communicate with the actual decision maker and

that makes it more challenging. I would suspect that would be a similar challenge for the sellers of equipment as well.

Newsline: There is an ongoing trend towards organic farm-ing. Do these operations involve any unique capital equip-ment and/or financing needs? If so, please explain.

Jarnot: We certainly are seeing an increased interest and demand for organic and locally grown food products. The organic operations will typically be smaller. There is more spe-cialized niche equipment in this market and it is a more frag-mented market than the large-scale farm operations. Ticket size and annual volume of financed equipment are obviously much lower than the commercial agriculture operations. “Off- farm” income is often needed to help sustain the smaller operations for total household income, so from a finance per-spective, we have to take that into account when lending into that market.

Newsline: Overall, what are your thoughts on the future in this sector?

Jarnot: Despite seemingly negative news today, there is some-thing unique about those involved in agriculture. For the farmer, agriculture is a way of life, and there is always opti-mism and an expectation that things will improve. Every year presents its unique challenges and there are many uncontrol-lable variables. That being said, we are involved in an industry that produces a product that is a staple need: food. So, despite all the challenges and the volatility typical of a commodity market, as lenders to the agricultural sector we need to have a similar mind-set of the farmer. In other words, we are in it for the long term.



By most measures the market for office equipment and infor-mation technology (IT) products will see another year of growth in 2017. According to the latest research from Gart-ner, Inc., worldwide IT spending will total $3.5 trillion by the year’s end – a 2.7 percent increase from 2016. However, this growth rate is down from earlier projections of 3 percent.

Our industry is constantly evolving and reinventing itself. Current and future trends in all areas affect the way we do business. Let's consider a few of the major factors for 2017.

Big Data For The WinTechnology continues to drive business from the standpoint of the lender and borrower alike. As the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) push forward, lenders and les-sors can utilize big data to their advantage. Credit assessment and decision making have become much less cumbersome. It's easier to serve customers when you have all the pertinent pieces of the puzzle available to you. The lender/lessor is able to incorporate technology and advanced analytics into every aspect of business, from marketing to service.

Transformative Solutions Drive Technology Sector to New Heights We live today in an on-demand world that is measured in gigabytes. As business and industry become increasingly connected, companies are devoting more resources than ever to acquiring the technological solutions to help them make sense of our networked world. This includes accessing, storing and protecting ever larger amounts of data – and adopting the analytic solutions needed to turn digitized information into actionable intelligence. Meanwhile, new automated technologies are coming to the production line. From Big Data to cybersecurity to 3D printing, lenders and lessors are discovering opportunities to capitalize on this new reality, and 2017 promises to be another banner year. By RJ Grimshaw


RJ GrimshawUniFi Equipment Finance

Borrowers and lessees appreciate the streamlined application and approval process. Gone are the days when a business owner had to trudge into a lender’s office with their accoun-tant. Now, one application can go to several lenders. Business borrowers realize the benefit of competing companies. While lenders are looking at them, they can check out lenders.

Partnerships between borrowers and lenders can take on a new dimension, with increased transparency. Will humanity and customer service be the next competitive arena, as some pre-dict?

Cybersecurity ThreatsThe U.S. Department of Justice has reported that an average of 4,000 ransomware attacks occur in the United States each day. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S.-based ransomware victims reported more than $209 million in losses in the first three months of 2016 alone. As the focus of cybersecurity evolves into detection and response, the price tag goes up. Estimated spending in this area is projected by Gartner, Inc., to hit $90 billion this year. There is a short-age of skilled workers in this field, and the best and brightest will command a steep price. Total expenditures will include a combination of hardware, software, and personnel.

Equipment AdvancesIn equipment breakthroughs, the 3D printer is exploding on the scene after much anticipation. More availability, coupled with the increase in printing mediums (resin, metal, ceramic, etc.) means a more practical application in manufacturing. The necessary software bundles will be included in lease and financing agreements. Increasing varieties of machines, and decreasing price points, will drive contracts for this hot item. We can expect a lot of forward movement on this equip-ment for the next several years.

With the optimism of jobs returning to the U.S. comes the need for reputable lenders/lessors. Equipment needs will change as businesses start and expand. Companies that require updated equipment will want to lease or finance. This makes much more sense than investing capital reserves.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is based on the concept known as "machine-to-machine,” or M2M communication.

It won't go far without... machines.

The Promise of DeregulationMany lenders are looking forward to relaxed regulations with a new administration in Washington. It's no secret that the


President wants to sway things in favor of business, and is a big fan of deregu-lation. This will be a breath of fresh air for businesses that have become stifled by the cost and constraints of overreach-ing regulation.

In this hopeful climate, we can expect increased commercial loan activ-ity. Reduction in regulatory costs will be a big win. This is especially true for smaller banks and lending companies.

What effect will deregulation have on bigger lending and leas-ing institutions? It will most likely signal the start of the race. The competition will be fierce among those fighting for increased market share. Companies will strive to build their bottom line and grow their balance sheets.

The Threat of Higher Interest Rates Numbers are off to a sluggish start in 2017, and year-over-year numbers are underwhelming for most companies. Yet, the forecast is optimistic. There are signs that we will experience a renaissance in manufacturing sectors. Confidence is high in the economy as a whole.

Probabilities of rising interest rates on the horizon add one more future trend into the mix. This can go a couple of ways. We can assume that higher interest rates would create a stron-ger economy. A more robust economy should benefit business overall. On the other hand, a rise in interest rates may cause borrowers, and lenders, to become risk averse.

Another factor tied to the possibility of higher interest rates is demand. An anticipated rate hike will prompt businesses to secure the equipment they need sooner rather than later this year. Leasing and financing should represent the best option for many companies.

Looking Forward in 2017As the need for equipment and business growth increases in 2017, we can look forward to a banner year. Being proactive and anticipating customer needs remains as important as ever. Establishing good client relations and business trust partner-ships will be critical. Position yourself to capitalize on the industry's success this year. What will you do today to ensure that you're relevant tomorrow?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | RJ Grimshaw is the President & CEO of UniFi Equipment Finance.

nefacts2017 NEFA PARTNERS AS OF 4-19-17

PLATINUMChannel Partners CapitalLeaseTeam, Inc.Pawnee Leasing Corporation

DIAMONDECS Financial Services, Inc.Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc.Marlin Business BankStearns Bank

Alliance Capital Corporation • Broker/LessorCastlelake • Broker/LessorChampion Equipment Finance • Broker/LessorEl Dorado Commercial Finance, LLC • Broker/LessorLendSpark Corporation • Broker/LessorSertant Capital, LLC • Broker/LessorSomerset Capital Group • Broker/Lessor

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

To learn more about the benefits of NEFA membership, contact Gerry Egan at [email protected]

For Sponsorship / Exhibit opportunities, contact Kim King at

[email protected]

INDUSTRY EVENTS CALENDAR

Crab FeastJune 8, 2017

Baltimore, MD

Angels Baseball NetworkingJuly 14, 2017

Angel StadiumAnaheim, CA

KC Royals Baseball Networking

August 3, 2017Kauffman StadiumKansas City, MO

Atlanta Networking Luncheon

August 17, 2017Ansley Golf Club

Atlanta, GA

Funding SymposiumOctober 4-6, 2017

JW Marriott BuckheadAtlanta, GA

NJ Expo Super RegionalNovember 12-13, 2017Hyatt Regency Jersey City

Jersey City, NJ

GOLDBeneficial Equipment Finance Corp.Bryn Mawr FundingGreat American InsuranceNavitas Credit Corp.North Mill Equipment FinanceRapid Advance

SILVERArvest Equipment FinanceBancorpSouth Equipment FinanceDakota Financial, LLCDedicated Commercial Recovery Inc.Orange Commercial CreditQuality Leasing Co., Inc.Red Bridge CapitalRTR Services, Inc.YES Leasing

2017 FUNDING SYMPOSIUM EXHIBITORS AS OF 4-19-17

2017 FUNDING SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS AS OF 4-19-17

Bryn Mawr Funding – Hotel Key CardsChannel Partners Capital – Thursday Networking LuncheonECS Financial Services, Inc. – Welcome Reception & Drink TicketsFinancial Pacific Leasing, Inc. – Name BadgesGreat American Insurance – Pocket BrochureLeaseTeam, Inc. – Conference GiftOrange Commercial Credit – Presidents Reception Drink TicketsPawnee Leasing Corporation – Welcome Reception Rapid Advance – Registration Packets, Education Breakout Session & Conference Broadcast EmailsRTR Services, Inc. – Conference Broadcast Emails, Prize Give-Away & Conference Attendee List

Beneficial Equipment Finance Corp.Bryn Mawr FundingChannel Partners CapitalDakota Financial, LLCDedicated Commercial Recovery Inc.ECS Financial Services, Inc.Equipment Insurance DirectFinancial Pacific Leasing, Inc.Great American InsuranceLeaseTeam, Inc.

Marlin Business BankNavitas Credit Corp.North Mill Equipment Finance, LLCOrange Commercial CreditPawnee Leasing CorporationQuality Leasing Co., Inc.Rapid AdvanceRed Bridge CapitalRTR Services



INDUSTRY EVENTS CALENDAR

Advising Clients About CAPEX EvaluationEconomist Samuel Weaver delivers a primer for equipment finance professionals advising clients on capital expenditure evaluation during times of economic uncertainty.By Samuel C. Weaver, PhD, CFM, CMAUncertainty is the operative word in many aspects of the national economy. Have we turned the cor-ner from the downturn that we encountered in 2007 and 2008? Do future interest rate increases loom? What will be the impact of anticipated tax changes on the horizon? What about the proposed Federal government budget?

When it comes to capital expenditures, deci-sion makers need to recognize the uncertainty of assumptions and employ evaluation techniques that provide an array of analytical results.

Four Phases of a Successful Capital ProgramNothing can guarantee the success of corporate invest-ments. However, a four-phased approach to capital expenditures increases the likelihood of success.

Planning: The planning phase originates with a multiple year strategic financial plan in which cap-ital expenditures are estimated in total with often limited supporting details.

Capital expenditures can be broken into four major categories for planning purposes:

• Cost Savings – Aimed at reducing the costs of production, distribution, etc.

• Capacity Expansion – Designed to support the corporate growth objective and strategies through increasing production capacity for existing products.

• New Products – With the goal of supporting the corporate growth objective and strategies through

capital investment in new products.

• Miscellaneous – Referring to expenditures for information technology, regulatory and safety, administration, research and development, and other ancillary support systems.

Good capital planning and budgeting will improve the timing of asset acquisitions and perhaps the quality of assets purchased. From a financial per-spective, a firm needs to make the proper capital structure decisions for long-term financing.

Capital Evaluation and Authorization: In most com-panies, plan or budget identification of a capital project is generally not an authorization to proceed with the project. Authorization of a project happens during the project evaluation phase. This phase is the most critical phase. Realistic assumptions about cash flows must be evaluated.

Capital Status Reporting: After project evaluation and management approval, a project manager is assigned to implement the project on (or below) budget and on (or before) schedule. Status reporting tracks the proj-ect investment as implementation occurs, allowing the project manager to “read and react” to changes in the project’s investment as well as the potential benefits compared to the authorized approval.

Post-Completion Reviews: Post-completion reviews (PCR) are often the weakest phase of the capital expenditure process. PCRs are conducted any time after the project is operational, and compare the

Samuel C. Weaver, PhD, CFM, CMALehigh University

BUSINESS ECONOMICS


project's originally approved cash flows and financial indi-cators to actual project investment and revised performance. Economic evaluation indicators are then recalculated, and shortfalls are addressed.

Flexible Evaluation Cash Flow ModelingTo be clear that we are approaching capital evaluation in a similar fashion, the process begins by projecting operating cash flows for a potential investment. The projected cash flows are the basis upon which capital investment techniques are applied and the investment efficacy determined.

The major capital investment evaluation techniques include: Pay Back Period (PBP), Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). But in today’s uncertain environment we need to be responsive to potential changes in the underlying assump-tions. For example, Table 1 illustrates the depreciation of a $10 million asset using an 8 year straight line approach, the current 7-year life Modified Cost Recovery System (MACRS) that is used for most industrial equipment, and a one-year depreciation approach. You’ll notice no matter what, the full $10 million is depreciated, but with different timing.

compared to 7-year MACRS. With immediate write-off, the full $10 million would be expensed immediately (year 0), and the Net Present Cost would be $6.5 million, or an additional $986,000 stimulus compared to 7-year MACRS.

Table 2 (Section A) presents the present value (using 8% as the appropriate required rate of return or cost of capital) of the depreciation, while Section B lists the tax savings (at 35%) in present value terms using each depreciation approach. Section C summarizes the Net Present Cost of the $10 million asset after considering the present value of the tax savings. Section D Shows that our current 7-year MACRS provides an incen-tive of $167,000 versus straight line (U.S. GAAP), but 1-year full depreciation would offer an additional $559,000 stimulus

Moving through this period of uncertainty, modeling must be deepened to reflect all of the intricate details of potential tax changes. This type of “mechanical” analysis may be the easier where flexible modeling is required. The more difficult model-ing will be a scenario analysis where multiple, undefined con-sequences prevail. Regardless, the project consequences must be presented and refined even in the face of uncertainty.

Non-Static Evaluation DirectionIs the NPV positive? Does the IRR exceed our cost of capital? Should we do the project? With the prevailing uncertainty, the answer facing the decision maker is less clear and more com-plex than ever before. There may no longer be one definitive “right” answer.

Decision makers need to recognize the uncertainty of assump-tions and welcome evaluation techniques such as basic single variable sensitivity analysis, multiple variable scenario analy-sis, “data tables,” and even a more highly sophisticated Monte Carlo Analysis.

Only time and a final post-completion review will tell if the decision was a correct one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Samuel C. Weaver, PhD, CFM, CMA is the Finance Professor of Practice at Lehigh University.



Millennials’ Mind on Money Michael Faltus on why bridging the generation gap is far smarter than bypassing it. By Michael Faltus

Not all millennials spend time playing Pokémon Go, watching Twitch while drinking Mountain Dew, and figuring out how to create the perfect sequences for Snapchat. It should not be a surprise that many in my generation do many of the same things older generations have done for years. We read The Wall Street Journal, research topics that are important to us, and take a general interest in edu-cating ourselves. We may have exchanged papers for tablets, but our desire for innovation and per-spective are still informed by a basic desire to be successful.

Perspective and innovation should be a value-add to traditional underwriting processes. Like many in this industry, when we receive a credit inquiry, we hold our breath until we run that full-credit review. This is a time-tested metric that reduces our expo-sure to default. We glance through the traditional balance sheets and interim numbers using these redundant processes time in and time out. These processes are a staple of our ability to work with clients. But how can we breathe fresh perspective and innovation into a proven due-diligence meth-odology that has proven successful for so long?

With the economy slowing, risk of inflation rising, interest rates being raised, and GDP stagnant – this is the perfect time for that fresh perspective. The key question is: How we can incorporate alterna-tive debt underwriting methodologies while still minimizing risk exposure? The answer comes from that macro-economics class we took in college. We do our research in financial sectors that have good medium-range outlooks. Millennials find value in debt no one wants to touch. By understanding

macro-economic trends, millennials bring substan-tial value to the credit-risk due diligence process. This mindset and perspective helps grow market share and provides lenders a more calculated under-standing of the debt being issued. For example, the coal industry has had a difficult time in the last eight years due to EPA regulations, and many lend-ers have stayed clear of the coal industry as a result. Given an imminent change in EPA policy and the core focus of growth in jobs in this sector, we can be more tolerant of the debt in the coal sector. This perspective is something that a traditional balance sheet and credit analysis would not be able to weigh.

What other tools does this generation bring to the table that enhance efficiency and profitability? You need to look nowhere further than the valuations applied to companies in Silicon Valley. With Snap-chat’s successful IPO in March, many are wonder-ing: Do these companies bring traditional value to a business model? The ability to integrate young tech-savvy minds will not only cultivate the stream-lining of processes, but facilitate more profitable business practices. This can also be applied to find-ing innovative ways to find leads. LinkedIn allows you to immediately connect with members to find those with common purpose. The information that is now at our fingertips enables us to call a lead with all types of background information already in hand. You now can find ways to resonate with that business owner or leader. This not only saves time, but allows for greater closing percentages in the sales cycle.

To speak to the point on streamlining, we now live in an era of instantaneous connectivity. This contin-

Michael FaltusPinnacle Capital Partners

CORPORATE CULTURE


ually evolving technology has allowed millennials to develop more expansive footprints than prior generations of sales pro-fessionals. Millennials use this to their advantage by creating networking groups that extend far beyond their immediate geographical footprint. In return they are able grow their busi-ness practices and grow results by capturing market share that may not have been conceivable otherwise. With proficiency in Go-to-Meeting, LinkedIn, texting, and various other online tools, millennials make it easy to maintain their message in front of their clients with little upfront investment. By trading large mailers for unique marketing strategies and networking, they are reducing expense ratios in return for larger reach.

To further cement this point, look at how the service industry is driven by convenience. Amazon has integrated technology and grown e-commerce (at the expense of brick-and-mortar retailers). In doing so, they have satisfied the “immediate sat-isfaction” mentality of the new consumer. Then there’s Uber. Despite being plagued by hemorrhaging cash and futile invest-ment in China, Uber leveraged convenience as a foundation to grow a fledging business into a behemoth. Of course the tech-nology of driverless cars is the penchant of their success long term. The analogy here is that by using technology to satisfy the conditions of convenience, the finance industry can also reap more consistent business by developing techniques that make this process turnkey. With the implementation of e-sig-natures, online chat forums, and app-based financial products, we are reaching a new generation of American business leaders.

So, as we put phonebooks and rolodexes to the wayside, we exchange them for technology that keeps up with not only client flow, but also with our personal schedules. Technology empowers new organizational methods that enable you to spend more time focusing on business growth. If implemented

correctly it will also allow you to stay in touch with all cli-ents to service their needs and stay relevant. More than ever before, we are selling the commodity of “relevance.” Technol-ogy improvements allow you to market and message in a way that is immediately palpable. Exploring the vast tools available to your business gives you a big edge to stay relevant. Millen-nials are best positioned to enable your business to develop these key features by ensuring your model stays relevant for years to come.

In conclusion, by using a little innovation, technology and analysis, we can branch out to sectors of the economy that are underserved. This will enhance the traditional metrics of balance sheet, cash flow, P/E, and ROI. Those are things that every generation will appreciate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Michael Faltus works for Ascente Financial a subsidiary of Pinnacle Capital Partners.


“Technology empowers new organizational methods that enable you to spend more time focusing on business growth.”


Newsline: What are the primary factors that are driving you as the Executive Director of NEFA to focus on education as an important offering for association members?

Education has always been a high priority for NEFA. Remember, NEFA is a continuation of the group that originally conceived of and launched the Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) Foundation, and then spun that foundation off for the benefit of the whole industry. That was pioneer-ing when we did it and it has had a huge impact on the whole industry ever since.

In today’s NEFA, we still feel a strong sense of responsibility to continue that tradition and help lead the way in innovative educational opportuni-ties. Education is one of our core values because of its ability to help our current members, its critical role in developing our future members, and its ben-eficial impact on the whole industry. These benefits naturally extend to the customers that our industry serves.

Newsline: What makes this online educational pro-gram different from other programs?

Well, that difference comes straight from another of our core values: Community. NEFA is a very tight community of professionals. The most common thing we hear from new members and first-time NEFA conference attendees is how friendly, open and helpful NEFA members are – they help and

they teach each other. That’s what will make our Online Learning Center both effective and unique. Most of our content will be member created and contributed – members sharing ideas with other members. In today’s fast-changing market, it’s the little ideas that can be implemented quickly that can make the biggest difference. We want our edu-cational programs to serve those needs of our mem-bership. Building a constantly changing library of field-tested, member-created, short online courses will be both unique in the industry and more responsive to industry needs. At the same time it reflects the best of what’s unique about NEFA itself.

Newsline: Why do you recommend companies incorporate the training courses available on the NEFA website into their in-house training pro-grams? What are the benefits of doing so?

One of the reasons people are drawn to form busi-ness associations like ours grows out of a desire to establish, to raise, and to demonstrate a high level of standards in their profession. That’s Professionalism – the third NEFA core value. Shared training serves that purpose and is one of the benefits of using asso-ciation-developed training courses.

Another benefit is cost effectiveness. With access to industry-standard common knowledge and shared basic training programs and operating ideas, mem-ber companies are free to devote more of their own in-house resources into focusing on their own, company-specific programs and training.


ASSOCIATION

Teachable Moments – NEFA Launches Online Learning CenterNewsline takes time out to catch up with NEFA Executive Director Gerry Egan for an update on NEFA’s new Online Learning Center, and why the core value of education is such a critical component of the association’s mission.

Gerry EganNEFA Executive Director & CEO


ADVERTISER INDEXBoston Financial & Equity Corp. ..............11ECS Financial Services, Inc. ..........................10Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc. .......................12GreatAmerican Insurance Group .............7

GreatAmerica Portfolio Services ...........11LEAN ..........................................................................8LeaseTeam ...........................................................BCLeasing Solutions LLC ......................................5

NEFA .........................................................IFC, 6, 13Stearns Bank ...........................................................9

National Equipment Finance AssociationWith both new hires and people moving up within a com-pany, before managers invest significant amounts of their own limited resources they can evaluate how employees are likely to respond by how well they’ve taken to the basic material readily available through the association.

Newsline: What is NEFA’s long-term goal in offering online educational programs to NEFA members?

The roadmap for our Online Learning Center is really made up of three parts. We’re in the first part now. That’s getting people involved in it and familiar with using it, as well as building an initial library of member-contributed content. For that, we’re looking for as varied a set of courses as can be imagined. One member asked me what topic we’re interested in. I said any topic. If it’s of interest to you, I said, it’ll likely be of interest to someone else, too.

The next part will be to curate packages of related courses into what I call “learning paths.” That’ll be a huge help to managers looking to train new hires or develop their high performers for more responsibility. We’ll also take what we learn from usage statistics and use that information to develop longer-form courses in certain high-demand disciplines.

The third part is to develop outreach programs. These could be things we offer outside of our industry environment to inter-ested parties. That could include potential customers, related professions, students or a host of other people.

And just like way back in the old WAEL/UAEL days (pre-decessor organizations of today’s NEFA) when they created

the Certified Lease Professional designation (now known as CLFP) we see this as extending beyond just NEFA. It’s our hope that our friends at other associations may get interested in working with us on this, as we see it as a benefit to the entire industry.

Newsline: How can NEFA members contribute to this plat-form – what’s the process?

To get started, we’ve tried to make the process of contributing content as easy as possible. We’re aware that everyone is busy. We’re also aware that many people would be intimidated by trying to create one, two or three-hour courses. So that’s partly why we’ve focused on short - very short - courses, initially.

In the Online Learning Center right now, there’s a very short course called: Be a Course Creator. It outlines a very simple three-step process for creating a useful online course. It’ll help anyone who wants to contribute to come up with a topic idea and deliver it to us in a format that we can quickly turn into an interactive, online course. We also have a good team that will help anyone who wants to contribute.

In short, we believe that every single employee in every single member company has something they know that’s worth sharing. We want everyone to try. Remember, this is a community-based effort.We want anyone who believes in the idea and in NEFA’s core values of Community, Education and Professionalism to be able to be a part of it.



NEWSLINE PICTORIAL

National Equipment Finance Summit

March 15–17, 2017Long Beach, CA

COMPLIANCE &RISK MANAGEMENT

CREDITADJUDICATION

http://www.leaseteam.com/

Millennials’ Mind on Money Teachable Moments – …...Millennials’ Mind on Money Although it is...

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