CNG Leasing said it has joined forces with Bob New Inc. in a joint venture. The JV appointed Team Giannoni as its sales and marketing team, under the direction of Ron Giannoni, VP of marketing at CNG Leasing and president of Team Giannoni.

Under the joint venture agreement, Bob New Inc. has expanded its product line to include merchant cash advances, business loans and working capital loans and SBA financing.

Team Giannoni hired 21 additional account managers to supplement its private equity lending, equipment leasing and SBA business financing sales force. This is the second round of hiring that was completed since the middle of 2011 and brings its sales force to more than two account managers in every state, more in CA, OR, TX and NY.

“We are seeing steady growth in demand for credit from businesses,” said Giannoni. “I have committed to growing our customer base and expanding lending activities. This addition to our nationwide sales force is just another way to prepare for additional business growth. Business owners have indicated to us that they are ready to expand and we are working to help them do so as this market begins to rebound,” Giannoni said.

“I think that recent research shows that nearly 90% of small business lending requests were denied by banks in 2011,” added Gary Anderson, managing director of CNG Leasing. “We have been able to meet the needs of business owners who are frustrated by the lack of credit availability. They have almost given up on finding credit, we are now becoming known as their real funding partners that offer an alternative source of financing for this type of small business,” Anderson said.

Rich Smith, VP of IT support services, is responsible for online and offline marketing materials.