New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Raymond Ledonne was hired as Vice President, Special Assets Manager, Verdant Commercial Credit, Cincinnati, Ohio. He is located in Amelia, Ohio, working remotely. He joined Verdant as SR Portfolio Administrator (September, 2023 - March, 2026); Equipment Finance Operations Manager, PNC Equipment Finance (March, 2009 - September, 2023). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-ledonne-801a1631/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-ledonne-801a1631/

Claire McNamara was hired as Director, SG Credit Partners, Dallas, Texas, where she is also located. Previously, she was at Motrin Ridge Capital, starting as Assistant Vice President, Asset Based Lending, January, 2024, promoted Vice President, Underwriting (May, 2025 - March, 2026). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/claireamcnamara/

Samantha Romo was hired as Credit Risk Professional, Alliance Equipment Finance, Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, working remotely. Previously, she was at DLL as Credit Manager. She began her career as Senior Credit and Collections Administrator, Olympus Corporation of the Americas, starting as Senior Credit and Collections Administrator, August, 2008, promoted to Credit Analyst (September, 2012- December, 2014). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-romo-41b40744/

Dale Schwartz was hired at Alliance Equipment Finance as Senior Vice President of Direct
Originations, Ontario, California. He is located in Lake Havasu, Arizona, working remotely. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Direct Originations, Winspire Equipment Finance (Formerly Liberty Commercial Finance), (July, 2018 - 2026); Vice President, Aviation and Equipment Leasing, First National Capital Corporation (January, 2010 - May, 2018). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-s-44a63443/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-s-44a63443/

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NVLA Annual Meeting 2026
Where Leasing Innovators Band Together
By Sloan Schickler, Esq.

The National Vehicle Leasing Association held its 2026 Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN on March 4-6.

The meeting launched on March 4th with a fantastic tour of Nissan’s assembly plant located in Smyrna, TN for sixty of the members which provided a rare glimpse of an auto manufacturing plant, thanks to NVLA sponsor, Nissan. That evening, NVLA held a Welcome Reception and the President, Tarry Shebesta, gave awards to:  Ken Sopp - Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award and Sloan Schicker - Samuel J. Lee Memorial Award. Kirk Browning, CLFP, Rhonda Hadden, and Edith Chavez, Program & Marketing Manager, NVLA, received the President’s Award. To round out the evening’s festivities, Women in Leasing hosted a social and networking event at Chief’s on Broadway, a popular Nashville live music spot.

A highpoint of the morning of March 5th was Building Great Teams and Great Leaders by keynote speaker Eric Kapitulik, a U.S. Marine Corps Infantry and Special Operations Officer, endurance athlete and founder of The Program who spoke of his courageous survival from a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of six of his Marines. His experiences have taught Eric how to build great teams and great leaders through commitment, courage and character.

Next, Rudy Nieto, Mark Falconer and Tarry Shebesta spoke about Fraud Prevention: Building a Modern Fraud Stack for the Leasing Industry. The team identified various ways that fraud can infiltrate lessor, dealer and lender’s systems from credit prequalification workflows, form-fill web apps, bot-driven submissions and fake identities and suggested a multi-layered approach to combat this extremely prevalent phenomenon.

The last item of the morning was my Legal and Legislative Update. The first topic up was the Regulation M threshold increase to $73,500 effective January 1, 2026. This means on the federal level that Truth in Lending Act disclosures are required for consumer leases where the total obligation is at or below the threshold amount. Lessors and lenders should check their origination systems annually to be certain they are flagging the updated threshold amount. Also note there are states where these federal disclosures are required even though the lessee’s total obligation meets or exceeds the threshold amount. Next, I noted that Rohit Chopra, the former CFPB Director who is known for aggressive enforcement, was hired by the Democratic Attorneys General Association to lead their new Consumer Protection and Affordability Working Group. This means that state attorneys general (AGs) are banding together to coordinate enforcement activities due to the lack of such activity at the federal level. Auto finance is explicitly mentioned as a priority for the AGs. AGs can move quickly with civil investigations and coordinate multi-state investigations that will result in nationwide standards.

Further, although federal enforcement has scaled back, private attorneys will closely follow the AGs’ activities, and this could likely precede increased class action litigation. Next, we reviewed commercial finance disclosures. I reminded the crowd that each state has different legal requirements, and the disclosures vary by state. Most banks and credit unions are exempt, but not non-bank lessors and captive finance companies.These disclosures are currently required in CA, CT, FL, GA, KS, MN, MI, ME, ND, NV, NH, NY, OR, UT and VA (sales-based financing only). States with recently enacted legislation are MO, TX and LA.

Most of these laws apply to transactions below $500,000 and require consumer-like disclosures. While traditional operating leases are generally exempt, structures that may trigger the disclosure requirements include finance leases with purchase options, lease-to-own arrangements and disguised credit sales, among others. Note that the laws in these states may or may not apply to specific transactions and lessors and lenders should consult legal counsel. The next topic was the California CARS Act which is geared to cover individual car buyers and lessees and does not apply to commercial purchasers of five or more vehicles a year for commercial purposes. The law heightens disclosure of total price, advertising disclosures, a right of cancellation and restrictions on add-on products. Other states have joined the bandwagon of these new consumer protection provisions, including MA, PA and NY and IL has a bill pending. Finally, I recommended revising leases to include updated provisions on electronic signatures, GPS telematics and data privacy.

During the lunch break, Women in Leasing (WIL) held its fourth annual roundtable during which we planned our sessions for the next year. We meet on the third Wednesday of every other month on Zoom, and the next meeting is May 20, 2026. Up to now I have served as chairperson of WIL and this year Christy Bader of 1st Source Bank has agreed to co-chair the group. We have a dynamic group of women from all facets of NVLA membership, including banks, independent lessors, manufacturers’ fleet teams, and computer software vendors, among others. We are excited to share that Tonya Philson of WIL was elected to serve on the NVLA Board of Directors commencing this past January. We discussed our focus for the next year will include sessions on leading from your masculine or feminine side, networking, imposter syndrome, public speaking and more.

The afternoon session started with By the Numbers: The Economics Shaping Modern Vehicle Leasing presented by Eric Lyman of Black Book and Melinda Zabritski of Experian. They noted there are no big increases in vehicle prices so far in 2026. However, we should expect to start seeing an impact from tariffs in May of 2026. Further, subprime is at an all-time high, which is no surprise given the current economic climate. Sales of electric vehicles have had a significant tapering in 2026 as a result of the expiration of federal tax credits and an increase in off-lease EVs which is putting pressure on used car prices among other issues.

Succession Planning to Ensure Business Continuity and Grow Future Leadership was presented by WIL members Christy Bader, Donna Klug and Addison Pixley. The session was highly attended and provided insightful suggestions and discussion with the audience on ways to create and maintain a strong internal talent pipeline and a framework to identify and retain high-potential individuals who can step up and into roles to diminish risk if employees leave or become ill or retire.
Simultaneously, Building a Profitable LHPH Program: What’s Needed to Succeed was presented by a large panel led by Rhonda Hadden. The session outlined funding structure methodology, explained third-party servicing and collection resources, identified dealer management and add-on products devoted to LHPH and other practical hands-on considerations.

Other notable sessions included Growing the In-House Portfolio While Monetizing Out-of-Scope Deals, led by Doug Moore and including Ed Cain, Scott Crawford, Paul Erwin, Garrett Kautz, Jeff Morgan, Tim O’Connor and Mark Van Nest, which drilled into the development of a collaborative structure with outside lenders to enable the lessor to retain the customer relationship and find a suitable funding source for deals that fall outside of the lessor’s credit parameters or overall funding capacity.

On March 6th, Gail Rubenstein of Retail Resilient provided a lively and informative session on Marketing Lessons that Fuel Sales, Leadership and Growth. The session gave real life examples of how-to market using social media to develop trust, strengthen relationships and drive sales. Gail demonstrated her technique for creating promotions on social media—check out the ones created during the session among NVLA LinkedIn posts from the annual conference.

E-Signatures and Vaulting presented by Matthew Babcock, Dan Schaub and I gave a complete overview of the mechanics of e-signatures and electronic vaulting as well as the legal basis for perfecting the lender’s lien and maintaining control of the authoritative copy of an electronic contract. For the lender to perfect its lien under the Uniform Commercial Code, I explained that the lender must have control of the electronic chattel paper, commonly known as the lease contract. Control is obtained through compliance with UCC §9-105: there can be only one single authoritative copy of lease; identification of the secured party on the document; the authoritative copy must be delivered to and maintained by the secured party or its custodian; only the secured party can authorize copies or revisions to the lease contract; and all additional copies must be identifiable as copies as distinguished from the authoritative copy.

Finally, the last session of the conference, Practical AI for Today’s Workplace: Security, Safety and Smarter Decisions by Tarry Shebesta, Rob Schenk, Mike Francis and Constantine Yaremtso delved into the topic on everyone’s mind today: the practical application of AI in the workplace.
Once again, the NVLA Annual Conference knocked it out of the park with amazing on point content.

Sloan Schickler is a partner in the commercial finance law firm, Schickler & Schickler PLLC (www.schicklerlaw.com). Schickler, a veteran vehicle leasing, finance and bank attorney and the attorneys in her firm have decades of experience representing and protecting lessors, banks, captive and independent finance companies and start-ups in all facets of the vehicle leasing and financing business. She has served as the NVLA Legal and Legislative counsel since 2017, is on the NVLA board of directors, founder of NVLA’s Women in Leasing and is a supporter of Leasing News and sits on its Advisory Board. Sloan can be reached at sloan.schickler@schicklerlaw.com or 212-262-5297.

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Funder Looking for Broker Business
(Lists at Bottom of Report)

There is no advertising fee or charge for a listing. They are “free.” Leasing News makes no endorsement of any of the companies listed, except they have qualified to be on this specific list.

We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. We encourage adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers.

Please send company name, contact/email or telephone number as well as a URL to attach or description List.

Alphabetical list - click on company name to view more details

1st Enterprise Bank Leasing 360 Equipment Finance Balboa Capital Corp. Bankers Capital Baystone Government Finance/ KS StateBank Blue Bridge Financial Boston Financial & Equity Corp. BSB Leasing, Inc. Calfund, LLC Celtic Bank

C.H. Brown Company Clicklease Dakota Financial Dedicated Funding Dext Capital First Federal Leasing First Midwest Equipment Finance Co. Financial Pacific Leasing Forum Financial Services, Inc. Gonor Funding Global Financial & Leasing Services, LLC

International Financial Services Corporation Maxim Commercial Capital, LLC Navitas Credit Corp. NewLane Finance NFS Leasing, Inc North Mill Equipment Finance Quality Equipment Finance SLIM Capital, LLC Targeted Funding Co., LLC TEAM Funding Solutions TimePayment

All Leasing News Lists

• Funder List "A"
  
  
• Funders Looking for Broker Business     
  
  
• Funders Taking New Broker Business List
  
  
• No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business plus Leasing Companies Out of Business 
  
  
• Story Credit Financing Business Loans, SBA Loans, Working Capital
  

Help Wanted Ad
    Ameris Bank Equipment Finance

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Don't Burn Yourself Out!
By Ken Lubin, Managing Director, ZRG Partners

Athletes live by this. They don’t try to PR every day, and they don’t burn themselves out with hero workouts. They commit to incremental progress—slightly better pace, slightly cleaner technique, slightly more intention. Over time, those micro-habits rewrite their identity. Suddenly, they are the person who trains daily, recovers intentionally, and executes without excuses.

Executives and those in sales can learn a lot from that mindset. In business, most people swing too hard, flame out, and then wonder why they can’t sustain momentum. They operate in bursts instead of systems. Meanwhile, elite leaders pick small, controllable habits that strengthen their performance every single day: reading 10 minutes, sending five meaningful outreach messages, reviewing their pipeline, tightening their schedule, or simply sleeping an extra hour. The habits look small, but the effect is massive.

The magic of the 1% rule is that it removes pressure. You no longer need to overhaul your life. You just need to win the day in tiny, measurable ways. And once you stack enough days like that, your standards rise. Your identity shifts. You become someone who delivers—consistently, calmly, and confidently.

Ken Lubin, Managing Director
ZRG Partners, LLC
Americas I EMEA I Asia Pacific
C: 508-733-4789
klubin@zrgpartners.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/klubin

 

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### Press Release ##################

Jules & Associates Facilitates Multi-Million-Dollar
Equipment Financing Transactions Across Key U.S. Industries

Los Angeles - Jules & Associates, a privately held equipment finance firm providing structured financing solutions to businesses in capital-intensive industries, today announced the successful facilitation of multiple equipment financing transactions totaling over ten million dollars across key U.S. industries.

The transactions supported growth initiatives for companies in logistics, manufacturing, and infrastructure services. Financing structures were designed to address extended equipment delivery timelines and align funding with deployment schedules, enabling clients to preserve liquidity while scaling critical operations.

Michael Behar, Sr. Vice President and Sales Manager at Jules & Associates, said, “As businesses continue to navigate volatile markets and tighter capital conditions, access to thoughtfully structured equipment financing has become increasingly important,” Behar said. “Our focus is on delivering financing solutions that support growth without compromising cash flow.”

Jules & Associates structures and delivers equipment financing solutions tailored to each client’s operational profile, industry dynamics, and long-term growth strategy. The firm’s approach is grounded in disciplined underwriting, efficient execution, and consistency in credit standards, ensuring clients receive practical, reliable financing aligned with their business objectives.

This activity reflects continued demand for customized equipment financing structures as businesses seek alternatives to traditional capital expenditure models in an evolving economic environment.

About Jules & Associates

Founded over 35 years ago, Jules & Associates is an independent equipment finance firm providing customized financing solutions to businesses across a wide range of industries. The firm specializes in structuring flexible, practical capital solutions for the acquisition of essential equipment, helping clients preserve cash flow, optimize balance sheets, and support long-term growth. With decades of industry experience and a relationship-driven approach, Jules & Associates is known for its speed, reliability, and deep understanding of complex financing needs.

For more information, visit www.JulesandAssociates.com

### Press Release######################

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Mapped: Where $200K Incomes Are
Most Common in America

Key Takeaways

• More than 1 in 4 households in D.C. earn $200K+, the highest in the U.S.
• In top states like Massachusetts and New Jersey, roughly 1 in 5 households reach this level.
• In parts of the South, fewer than 1 in 15 households earn $200K or more.

Earning $200,000 a year may sound like a high bar, but in some parts of the U.S., it’s far more common than you might expect.

In Washington, D.C., 26.6% of households earn $200K+, more than double the national average of 12.5%. In many Northeastern and West Coast states, the share is closer to 20%.

This map, based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, shows where $200K incomes are concentrated, and where they remain relatively rare.

News Briefs

Trump Announces Plan to Pay TSA Agents
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/republicans-push-white-house-to-declare-national-emergency-to-pay-tsa-agents-2cc02b28?st=Ssycwk&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Iran Earning $139 Million a Day From Oil
  as Hormuz Crisis Locks Out Rivals
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Iran-Earning-139-Million-a-Day-From-Oil-as-Hormuz-Crisis-Locks-Out-Rivals.html

Spiking gas prices tied to Iran war are set
    to eat up tax refunds touted by Trump
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-refunds-gas-prices-859494e746561a3343dcd57836c3dc83

ICE deployments created chaos for cities 
    and cost them millions, NPR analysis finds
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/24/nx-s1-5739701/ice-surge-trump-finance-cost-cities

American farmers struggle with higher prices
  from Iran war, tariffs: ‘Double whammy’
https://nypost.com/2026/03/25/business/american-farmers-struggle-with-higher-prices-from-iran-war-tariffs-double-whammy/

US Treasury plans to put Trump’s signature on new
   paper currency in first for sitting president
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/26/nation/trump-currency-signiture/

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The 2026 Coleman SBA Lending Awards Recap 
   Plus Award Presented to Sean Murray
https://debanked.com/2026/03/the-2026-coleman-sba-lending-awards-recap/

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Sports Briefs

This high school player may be the most lauded recruit
    to ever come out of Bay Area basketball
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/mckenna-woliczko-ready-hit-mitty-22081406.php

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California News Briefs

A packed Nvidia conference shows what downtown San Jose  is missing the rest of the year
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/03/21/nvidia-convention-downtown-san-jose-conference-recovery-slow/

Google unveils historic restoration of Hangar One  in Mountain View
https://www.mv-voice.com/environment/2026/03/20/google-unveils-historic-restoration-of-hangar-one-in-mountain-view/

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Gimme that Wine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

The California wine industry is changing.
    So why haven’t wine clubs?
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/wine-club-napa-sonoma-22081854.php

WineBusiness Monthly Publisher Eric Jorgensen Presented
   With 2026 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association
      Monteith Trophy
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/315705

Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation Selected as a
  2026 Grantee of The Gérard Basset Foundation
    Education Fund
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/315681

Corollary Announces Five New Spring Releases
 of Oregon Traditional Method Sparkling Wine
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/315658

Willamette Valley Vineyards Posts Results for 2025
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/315668