ABF Journal's Thought Leadership Podcast

In the 50th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Cheryl Carner, senior managing director and head of originations at SLR Credit Solutions, explained how SLR is approaching the rampant demand for growth financing in the current environment, specifically detailing the company’s approach to structuring this type of financing and partnering with businesses to help them succeed.

In the 49th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Richard Cabrera, executive vice president and head of middle market banking at Umpqua Bank, took some time to break down the findings of the bank’s recently released 2021 Business Barometer, including the growing optimism among middle market businesses, an expected rise in M&A activity and challenges in commercial real estate, staffing and the su...

In the 48th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Glenn McMahon, managing director of the consumer retail practice at Portage Point Partners, and Tom Park, managing director at Portage Point Partners, join the show to explain how “experiential retail” can bolster the long-term prospects of physical stores. They also discuss what lenders should know about these kinds of offerings and what they mean f...

In the 47th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Cassandra Rivilla-Lutterkort, executive director of the origination team at Pemberton, discussed the rise of direct lending in the UK and how this financing type has become particularly popular in the region. During the episode, Rivilla-Lutterkort extrapolated on a recent report from Pemberton to explain how direct lending has developed in the UK and...

In the 46th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Michael Mikhail, CEO and founder of Stratton Equities, broke down the differences between soft money and hard money loans, looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the commercial real estate market and provided advice for real estate investors in the current market.

In the 45th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Eric Kinney, senior vice president of risk and Bank Secrecy Act officer for Oxygen, outlined some of the fraudulent behaviors perpetuated across the financial services industry in relation to the Paycheck Protection Program and how those practices are being investigated. In addition, Kinney spoke about fraud in the financial services sector more gene...

In the 44th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Andrew Glenn, managing partner of Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes, joined the show to discuss the outcome of Hertz’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case following the company’s recent receipt of bankruptcy court approval of its plan of reorganization. Glenn discussed the compressed timeline, unique challenges and important milestones of the company’s reorgan...

For the 43rd episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, returns to the show nearly a year to the day since his first appearance to take a look at the shifts in small business lending demand and approval rates during the last 12 months, including a breakdown of the findings from Biz2Credit’s most recent small business lending index.

In a special midweek episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Ray Wizbowski, chief marketing officer of IDS, joined the program to discuss technology reshaping secured finance. Wizbowski, who will be moderating our next livestream event this Thursday at 1 p.m. EST, discussed business agility for secured finance companies, disruptors in the industry as well as technology requirements for lenders to keep...

For the 41st episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Juanita Schwartzkopf, senior managing director at Focus Management Group, provided an in-depth guide to refinancing, including the most important steps of the process and its benefits for borrowers and lenders, as well as an overview of recent trends.

For the 40th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Scott Avila, a partner at Paladin, stopped by to provide his insights on activity in the bankruptcy and restructuring sectors during the first third of 2021. Avila provided a general overview and looked at what industries have been most active in the space, how government actions have made an impact and what to expect during the back half of the yea...

In the 39th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Nate Volz, a partner at Husch Blackwell, joined the show to discuss the Main Street Lending Program. Volz laid out some of the shortcomings of the program, both in its design and execution, as well as some things it got right. Volz also shared some considerations for the future for lenders that provided financing through the program.

In the 38th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Chris Parisi, managing director of Carl Marks Advisors, discussed some of the trends in the M&A market during the first quarter and the catalysts for the rest of the year, including dry powder in private equity, better credit conditions and a rise in add-on acquisitions.

In the 37th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Diana H. Psarras, a shareholder with Robbins, Salomon and Patt, explored the different approaches to working with secured and unsecured creditors from a commercial litigation perspective. She also outlined legal hurdles for each type of capital provider and looked out how the legal landscape may change for them in the future.

In the 36th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Tom Majewski, managing partner at Eagle Point Credit Management, gave a comprehensive overview of collateralized loan obligations, including a look at their historical performance in times of economic distress. He also shared his thoughts on rising activity in this space and how he thinks CLOs will fare in the years to come.

In the 35th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, James Hanson, managing director of Opportune LLP, provides a deep dive on solvency and fairness opinions. He shared best practices for attaining these opinions and also explained their benefits during the restructuring process.

In the 34th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Todd Koretzky, a partner at Allen & Overy, took a look at why the leveraged finance world sees infrastructure as a valuable asset class and what that means for the private debt market.

Dwayne Hyzak of Main Street Capital stopped by for the 33rd episode of the ABF Journal Podcast to discuss how private equity and private debt are being allocated during the first half of 2021. He also shared some insights on the M&A landscape and contextualized what it all means for commercial lenders.

In the 32nd episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Stephen Wrobel, managing director of Hilco Corporate Finance, discussed the evolution of debt and equity capital raising during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, outlining challenges and opportunities as well as providing a look at what’s to come in the next few months.

In the 31st episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Jennifer Palmer and Entela Semini of Gerber Finance joined the program to discuss Gerber Finance’s new initiative for supporting women-owned businesses as well as the company’s own emphasis on providing career paths for women in asset-based lending.

In the 30th episode of the ABF Journal podcast. Harold Bordwin, principal and managing director of Keen-Summit Capital Partners, shared insights on how the shift to working from home (and the COVID-19 pandemic in general) has affected and will continue to affect the commercial real estate market, particularly as it pertains to lease concessions, adjustments, valuations and terminations.

In the 29th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, we took a look at Dwight Funding’s recent personnel moves for its business development team in conversations with Jessica Bates, who recently became managing director and head of business development, and Duy Nguyen, who recently joined the company as a director of business development. Both Bates and Nguyen discussed their careers and their plans fo...

In the 28th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Michael Sandnes, director at EisnerAmper, discussed the best strategies to help healthcare organizations entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He outlined how the COVID-19 pandemic has made this a larger and more complex problem while offering guidance on how to traverse the current environment.

In the 27th episode of the ABF Journal Podcast, Michael C. Eisenband, global co-leader of corporate finance and restructuring for FTI Consulting, discussed the many contrasts of 2020, including the disparity between Main Street and Wall Street. He also shared his thoughts on trends in employment and bankruptcy filings and urged stakeholders not to “write off this default cycle.”

In the 26th episode of the ABF Journal podcast, Doug Monticciolo, CEO of Brevet Capital, discussed the role private credit has played in COVID-19 testing and the potential role it could take in helping with vaccine distribution and recovery once the pandemic begins to subside.