A Family Affair: Skalicky on Building a Bank as a Community

Kelly Skalicky grew up with Stearns Bank. Now she is the president of the company. With a varied background as her foundation, she is uniquely qualified to continue the success her parents built at Stearns and position it for the future, all while maintaining a focus on small business customers.... read more

Monitor 100 2018

Equipment-Backed ABS: Continued Strength Contributes to Increase in Independent M&A Activity

Thanks to strong performance, equipment-backed ABS has been an investor favorite for the last few years, but new competition may be on the horizon. Sergey Moiseenko and Chuck Weilamann from rating agency DBRS provide an overview and outlook for the sector.... read more

Monitor 100 2018

The New Definition of Success: Evolving Vendor/Captive Finance for a Fintech Future

While fintech equipment finance is currently in stealth mode, The Alta Group expects efficient, well-designed fintechs to make their mark on the industry very soon. With the help of her colleagues, Patricia Voorhees explores what this will mean for vendor and captive finance companies.... read more

May/June 2018

Allow Me to Introduce Myself: Investors Bank Jumps into Equipment Finance

Although it does not have a long history in the C&I space, Investors Bank is betting big on equipment finance, adding industry veteran Ken Walters to lead a new group. Walters and his team are focused on building a national leader and providing solutions.... read more

May/June 2018

Innovation Finance: Verhelle Designs a Disruptive Model Built on Trust, Purpose & Humility

Bill Verhelle is back in the game with the launch of Innovation Finance, which will focus on delivering a dramatically improved customer experience to sophisticated corporate and non-profit borrowers. In an interview with Monitor, he discusses the five traits of excellent employers and the guiding principles of his business philosophy: trust, purpose and humility.... read more

May/June 2018

A Return to Normalcy: Construction Industry Optimism Remains High

A record-setting level of optimism was reported in Wells Fargo’s annual construction industry forecast. John Crum, national sales manager of the Construction Group at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance analyzes the data, explains why equipment rental has been on the rise and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. ... read more

2018

ELFA/IMN Investors’ Conference: Equipment ABS Market ‘Strong at All Levels’

Presenters at the 17th Annual Investors’ Conference shared an optimistic outlook for the equipment finance industry, with ABS “strong at all levels,” M&A “very frothy” and 2018 business investment expected to be “very bullish.”... read more

May/June 2018

Vendor Finance in 2018: Dexter Provides a Multi-Faceted Perspective

With the help of a few vendor-experienced friends, Dexter Van Dango explores several topics relevant to vendor finance, including strong new business volume, market volatility, the employment market, managed services and regulatory changes.... read more

May/June 2018

On-Demand Vendor Finance: Creating Innovative Solutions to Exceed Customer Expectations

In a Q&A with Monitor, top vendor finance leaders — Jeff Berg from DLL, Anthony Cracchiolo from U.S. Bank Equipment Finance and Jim Kelly from Wells Fargo Vendor Financial Services — rate 2017 and provide an outlook for the year ahead. They examine how customer needs have changed over the last five years and share the innovative approaches their companies have employed to keep vendor partners, and end-users, satisfied.... read more

May/June 2018

M&A Activity Continues Strong: Awaiting the Impact of New Developments

The Alta Group’s Bruce Kropschot and James Jackson examine the M&A market for independent equipment finance companies. Although another good year is expected, several factors could affect the market, including rising interest rates, stock market trends, tax reform legislation and accounting rule changes.... read more

March/April 2018

Thriving on Inconsistent Income: Finance Tips for the Commissioned Sales Person

Even top salespeople can run into trouble if they don’t know how to effectively manage their finances, and many can fall into the trap of living from commission check to commission check. Linda Kester shares the story of a coaching client who turned his financial life around after learning how to approach spending and saving from a place of strength.... read more

March/April 2018

The Effect of Tax Reform: The Good, the Bad and the Unclear

In the second installment of a series, Joe Sebik discusses the potential upsides and pitfalls of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.... read more

March/April 2018

Right Place, Right Time: Channel Partners Protects Customer Relationships

When a business is recognized as a top company for five straight years, something has to be going right. That’s exactly the case with Channel Partners Capital, which provides working capital loans to equipment finance customers by being a trusted — not disruptive — partner.... read more

March/April 2018

Sources of Optimism: Maintaining a Competitive Edge in Equipment Funding

Developments both in the public and private sector have fueled optimism in the ever-positive equipment leasing industry. In this year’s Funding Sources roundtable, representatives from Stearns Bank, Financial Pacific Leasing and Ascentium Capital share their thoughts on the current equipment acquisition environment, fintech and more.... read more

March/April 2018

Top Five Private Independents: Each Creates a Unique Blueprint for Success

In an exclusive Monitor roundtable, the leaders of the top five private independent equipment finance companies discuss how their teams rose to face the challenges of 2017. They discuss the increasing importance of technology in their businesses and share their views on the stock market correction, tax reform and how to attract top talent.... read more

March/April 2018