Nancy Pistorio answered questions for Leasing News
Re: Madison Capital to Cease Direct Equipment & Vehicle Financing

“Yes, I will continue as a Trustee, and Immediate Past Chair, at Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation until the end of my remaining term which is in Dec 2025.  I am also a partner in Madison and that will not change, however, I will not be active here on a daily basis after December 31.

"It is my understanding Allan (Levine) will be retired from the industry but I'll let him weigh in on that. He is copied above. He may want to give you his own comments regarding any retirement news."

FYI—Allan Levine long time member of Leasing News Advisory Board:
https://leasingnews.org/Advisory%20Board/Allan_Levine.htm

(Full Press Release below in Press Releases Received After Deadline)

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Chesswood Group Limited Cases Extended
to January 31, 2025

Andrew Morganti, Attorney, Berger Montague reported, "The current Stay of Litigation extends to January 31, 2025, and it is likely to be extended another 6-months (based upon my experience).

"A Stay of Litigation means that no litigation against Chesswood can move forward until after the CCAA Proceeding is completed."

This is complicated involving 15 cases plus various locations involved in Canada and the United
States.

Here is the basic report that brings the matter of the extension up-to-date:
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2024/11_04.htm#about

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Senator Ernst Introduced a Bill That Would
Move 30% of SBA Employees Across the Country
Coleman Reports

Senator Joni Ernst, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The “Returning SBA to Main Street Act” would relocate SBA employees assigned to SBA headquarters in Washington D.C. to other offices in regions around the United States.

Senator Joni Ernst’s goal is to promote geographic diversity and ensure adequate staffing throughout regions of the U.S.

“Connecting with an agency employee should not be a rare occurrence worthy of celebrating. There is no better way to fix the broken culture at the SBA than to bring them closer to the people they serve so that they perform more like a family business and less like a bloated bureaucracy,” says Senator Joni Ernst.

"Not only would employees be moved, but they would also be prevented from teleworking on a full-time basis. The reason for this is to “promote in-person customer service.”

Another key point of the bill would reduce the size of SBA headquarters. At a minimum, a third of the office space at SBA headquarters goes unused. If workers are moved around the country, the amount of wasted office space will increase, so the bill would reduce the amount of office space at SBA headquarters by at least 30%. This reduction would have to be completed within two years.

Washington Examiner source article

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Leasing and Finance Industry Help Wanted
Excellent Compensation/Marketing Support

Competition
Scott Wheeler, Wheeler Business Consulting

Originators in the commercial equipment finance and leasing industry know their competition well and never shy away from outperforming their competition. As originators are planning for 2025, they are reassessing the market and considering the competitive environment.

The past eighteen months have including multiple shifts in the market. Industry participants have redefined their focus, pricing, credit requirements, preferred industries, channels, and other characteristics. The market has changed significantly.

Some past competitors may no longer be relevant to an originator's current business model; and other participants may suddenly be significantly relevant.

To win larger and stronger relationships an originator must know who and against what she is competing. Originators are operating in a highly competitive market that is constantly changing. Vendors and end-users have many options in the market. It should always be assumed that other participants are striving to win the same relationships and transactions that any originator is pursuing. To clearly define an originator's position in the market, top originators routinely ask:

• What other companies are bidding on a specific opportunity?
• What does a vendor or end-user like and dislike about other offers?
• What specific structures and pricing have other competitors offered? (Strong originators ask for copies of competitor's proposals.)

Blindly quoting and praying that you win a transaction or relationship is a futile effort. Knowing the competition and aggressively striving to outperform the competition produces the greatest results.

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

Wheeler Business Consulting is working with individual originators and sales teams throughout the industry to ensure that they are well positioned in the market, capturing their fair share of business, and outperforming the competition. To schedule a one-on-one meeting contact Scott Wheeler at: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

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A “Rumble in NYC’s Concrete Jungle”
on Congestion Pricing by Mathew W. Daus, Esq.

Image: Bloomberg

Matt Daus, Founder and Chair of the Transportation Practice Group at Windels Marx, wrote a column for amNY Law examining the future of New York City’s congestion pricing program. Read an excerpt below:

“As the first major city in the country to implement such a toll, all eyes are on New York. The pause to the program was initiated by Governor Kathy Hochul, who cited the $15 per-day toll as too high given inflation and the economy. However, shortly after the general election, Hochul lifted the pause with a new phased plan that will start charging a $9 toll for most vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. Everything else about the program remains the same (with prorated reductions and exemptions). However, now there is a MAGA Republican elephant in the room, President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to terminate the initiative during his first week in office.

The political “tale-of the-tape” is shaping up with progressive Democrats favoring congestion pricing, and Republicans/ moderate Democrats who represent suburban voters being aligned against congestion pricing of any kind. Hochul almost lost her first election campaign to the newly nominated U.S. EPA Secretary Lee Zeldin (a Long Island Republican), as pricing was a major campaign issue. Now, as Hochul ponders re-election in 2026, with the balance of power in the House centering on several swing districts, the political jousting will determine the ultimate outcome of this high-stakes battle.

First, the new January 5 launch date is at risk due to the array of lawsuits from the program’s opponents. Over a half dozen anti-congestion pricing suits have been initiated, including cases brought by the Mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., the New York City teachers’ union, and the State of New Jersey. Plaintiff s in some of those cases are requesting injunctions, and it will only take one judge to ring the pause bell once again.

My prediction is that congestion pricing will eventually be blocked in New York City, for the same reason it did not happen under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg – “politics!”

The political realignment accompanying the recent election’s red wave gives opponents the upper hand. Trump means what he says, and there is no mystery surrounding his promise to end the program. That attempt could start with pulling prior federal approval and/or holding up other funding until the MTA ends the program. Of course, that could trigger more lawsuits against the Trump administration. Also, a bi-partisan group of Congress members, led by Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island and New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer, has vowed to re-introduce federal legislation to deliver this ultimate “knock out” punch. With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, this will be the “plan B” to end congestion pricing once and for all.”

Source: amNY Law
https://www.calameo.com/read/006530363f07c53562012?authid=JQhXm8ZXVJas

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Press Release Received After Deadline

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

Baltimore-based Madison Capital to Cease Direct   
Equipment & Vehicle Financing

 

Owings Mills, Md. – Madison Capital, LLC, announced today that, effective December 31, 2024, it will no longer offer direct financing for new equipment and vehicles. The company will continue to service existing clients and active accounts, while also working as an intermediary for those clients seeking additional financing for new transactions.

Nancy Pistorio, CLFP, President, said, “After 40 years as a direct funder and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to no longer provide direct financing. Changes in the competitive landscape and the significant, ongoing investments required in technology and for regulatory compliance were some of the key factors that contributed to our decision.

“We value our many great referral partners who have contributed to our success over the years, and we are grateful for the loyalty, trust, and deep relationships we have built.”

Madison Capital, one of the longest-operating independent equipment finance firms, earned its strong reputation in the industry based on its commitment to delivering outstanding service, responsiveness to client needs, and depth of industry knowledge and support. Clients have been notified directly about the upcoming changes and will continue to have access to Madison Capital’s expertise servicing their existing loans as well as assisting them in securing sources for new funding needs.

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

News Briefs

Honda and Nissan Say
    They Are Exploring Merger
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/honda-and-nissan-say-they-are-exploring-merger-b4ed3331?mod=hp_lead_pos1

Macy’s $151M freight accounting scandal:
    What happened with parcel deliveries?
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/macys-151m-freight-accounting-scandal-what-happened-with-parcel-deliveries?oly_enc_id=7354E3969723H7B

Danger on the Roads: Which Trucks Have
    the Highest Fatality Rates?
https://www.worktruckonline.com/10232936/danger-on-the-roads-which-trucks-have-the-highest-fatality-rates

Year-Over-Year Gains Highlight Market Resilience
    Amid Seasonal Slowdown
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/remax-national-housing-report-for-november-2024-302332743.html

Institute for Supply Management Reports
    Improvement to Continue in 2024
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ism-reports-economic-improvement-to-continue-in-2025-302331795.html

Billion-dollar donation from Netflix’s Reed
    Hastings leads 2024’s list of biggest gifts
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/17/netflix-reed-hastings-tops-2024-biggest-donations/

 

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Albertsons tries out AI assistance
wine selection
https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/12/16/albertsons-ai-preferabli-wine-selection/

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Sports Briefs---

Is LeBron James worst player on Los Angeles
    Lakers? One metric suggests he is
https://sportsnaut.com/los-angeles-lakers-news-lebron-james-worst-player/#google_vignette

Nick Bosa expects 49ers’ defense to stay
largely intact in 2025 — minus Campbell
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/17/49ers-nick-bosa-expects-defense-to-stay-largely-intact-minus-campbell/

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California News Briefs---

Farmers Insurance promises to write more California
   home insurance policies ahead of planned reforms
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/11/farmers-insurance-promises-to-write-more-california-home-insurance-policies-ahead-of-planned-reforms/

Phillips 66 to build 88-acre solar project
   on Contra Costa County site
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/17/next-era-to-build-phillips-66-solar-project/

'He was incorrect': SF DA Jenkins shames
   Elon Musk after Bob Lee murder verdict
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/jenkins-shames-elon-musk-lee-19986388.php

 22-story development proposed on S.F. oceanfront
  — where 22-story development proposed on S.F.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-ocean-tower-real-estate-19986470.php 

Cupertino: Iconic Flint Center undergoes
   demolition five years after closing
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/12/17/cupertino-iconic-flint-center-undergoes-demolition-five-years-after-closing/

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Gimme that Wine

 

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

22 winegrowing families honored for
    100 years of farming in Sonoma County
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/century-club-winegrowers/

What a century-old grapevine reveals about a disease
that plagues wine country
https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/12/16/what-a-century-old-grapevine-reveals-about-a-disease-that-plagues-wine-country/