Equipment & Risk Management 2009
January/February
Amid Struggling Economy, Equipment Managers Take the Lead
By Christopher Moraff
Once again asset managers are finding themselves on the front lines as leasing and finance companies struggle to maintain market share in a stagnant economy. In 2007, with the first signs of credit market instability, some 70% of finance company senior managers polled by the ELFA said they expected equipment managers to become increasingly important to their businesses. The Monitor spoke with five equipment managers to gain their perspectives on these times of unprecedented uncertainty.
2009 Outlook Survey of What Manufacturing Chiefs Expect
By Joyce White
The results of the 11th annual survey of mid-size and large U.S. manufacturing company CFOs commissioned by Bank of America Business Capital are explored in this article. The survey was conducted during a period of deteriorating health of the U.S. economy (mid-August through mid-October 2008). As a result, responses trended downward during the timeframe the survey was conducted
Why Bankruptcy Practitioners Should Care About E-Discovery
By Chuck Bobinis
The day-in, day-out reality of bankruptcy practice for practitioners is often likened to the emergency room of a busy urban hospital. Sometimes the patient is wheeled in, barely clinging to life. The wounds must be cleansed, the bleeding stopped, sometimes with an incomplete knowledge of the patient’s full history and circumstance, and with foreknowledge that resuscitation may not be in the cards. All of this is done while striving to earn a living, and to uphold the ethics of the profession.
Financial Federal Demonstrates the Wisdom of Sticking to Its Knitting
By Gerald F. Parrotto
While conventional thinking emphasizes the necessity of adaptation and change, once in a while a company comes along that seems to defy this commonly held belief. One such company is Financial Federal, which despite the meltdown in the financial services sector, illustrates the wisdom of maintaining a focus on what it does best.
Battling Hopelessness for Equipment Leasing Brokers
Making Progress in a Declining Market
By Linda P. Kester
In times like these, it’s easy to be negative — especially when prospects may seem to be drying up. In this edition, Linda Kester presents four ways to reinvigorate both yourself and your business
Salespeople Are the First-Line Underwriters for Your Organization
By Scott Kiley
In this time of decreasing liquidity, higher credit standards and a heightened sensitivity to credit exposure with certain industries and credits are a top priority. Fifth Third’s Scott Kiley sees 2009 as a time when folks get back to the basics.
Expanding Your Job Search
When the Going Gets Tough...The Tough Get Productive
By Gni Grossman
Although grim, it is nevertheless a reality that many people in the commercial finance sector have either been laid off or are in the state of pre-unemployment. No stranger to this reality, Molloy Associates’ Gni Grossman dispenses some sage advice on how to take full advantage of the downtime.
Fraud in Today’s Economy for Lenders and Lessors
Look Out for the Many Warning Signs
By Andrew K. Alper
When it comes to fraud, here’s the bottom line: fraud costs lenders and lessors millions of dollars every year. The key to fraud prevention is diligence, diligence and more diligence. For this year’s Risk Management and Fraud Prevention issue, Andrew Alper reminds readers to look out for the many “badges” of fraud.
True Leases Verses Straight Loans
A Matter of Distinction
By Kenneth P. Weinberg
It is common for those in our industry to distinguish true leases from dollar-out leases or other leases intended as security, which result in nothing more than a secured loan (referred to throughout the remainder of this issue as an ALIAS). This edition goes a step further and discusses situations where a loan documented on a note and a security agreement (sometimes referred to as a straight loan) is preferable to a lease, and vice versa.
