New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Allyson Gale was hired as Director of Federal Government Affairs, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, Washington, DC. She is located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Previously, she was Senior Director of Political Affairs, America's Credit Union (January, 2024 - June, 2024). She joined the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions September, 2019, Senior Member Experience
Strategist, promoted January, 2022, Director of Political Affairs, promoted Senior Director of Political Affairs (August, 2023 - June, 2024). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyson-gale-11128420/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyson-gale-11128420

Joel Neufeld was promoted to Head of Securitization, Reporting  Analysis, CWB National Leasing, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He has been with CWB for 27 years, starting May, 1997 in the Credit Department.  Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-neufeld-8b93aa30/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-neufeld-8b93aa30/

Ryan Welsher was hired as Director of Management, PEAC Solutions, Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Previously, he was at DLL for 10 years, 11 months. Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-welsher-a25ab266/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-welsher-a25ab266/

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The Extinction of Cash Transaction
Around the World

As credit cards and digital wallets (e.g. Apple Pay, Paytm, Alipay) see increasing adoption around the world, the share of cash being used in transactions is plummeting.

In some places, cash payments are already a rarity. This includes Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and most Nordic countries.

The report predicts that France, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and the U.S. will fall below the 10% transaction value threshold for cash by 2027.

Visualcapitalist.com

 

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Leasing and Finance Industry Help Wanted
Excellent Compensation/Marketing Support
Plus other openings for successful, growing funders

Finding More Success

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Two of the most asked questions lately are:

1) Where do I go to find more business?
2) How do I prepare for a potential slowdown in the coming months?

The answer to both questions is the same.

Focus on quality and solicit those transactions that you and your company fund both efficiently and profitably. Larry S.'s words over 35 years ago still remain valid today, "Any originator can find deals; the best originators find deals that can be won and funded profitably". Therefore, now is the time to dissect your success.

Over the past 9 to 12 months, what is the profile of the vendors that you and your company have funded the most and were the highest quality transactions? Go find more vendors that have these same attributes. Make the effort to explain to these new vendors why your company is the best fit for them - how you have proven yourself to other similar vendors. You want to expand your database of high-quality dependable vendors that can produce high-quality fundable transactions which you and your company are capable of winning.

Stated differently: Know your customers and seek those vendors and end-users that align with your capabilities.
Sales 101 - the basics still work.

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

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Chinese Self-Driving Cars have Quietly
Traveled 1.8 Million Miles on U.S. Roads
By Matthew W. Daus, Esq.

Since 2017, self-driving cars owned by Chinese companies have traversed 1.8 million miles of California alone. As part of their basic functionality, these cars capture video of their surroundings and map the state’s roads to within two centimeters of precision. Companies transfer that information from the cars to data centers, where they use it to train their self-driving systems.

The cars are part of a state program that allows companies developing self-driving technology to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. Among the 35 companies approved to test by the California DMV, seven are wholly or partly China-based. Five of them drove on California roads last year: WeRide, Apollo, AutoX, Pony.ai, and DiDi Research America. Some Chinese companies are approved to test in Arizona and Texas as well.

All four companies had been cited in investigations by the AG’s office for persistently violating city and state laws prohibiting idling engines in their yards for an extended period of time: five minutes under state law and three minutes under city law (shrinking to one minute when near a school).

Fitted with cameras, microphones, and sophisticated sensors, self-driving cars have long raised flags among privacy advocates. Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst at the digital rights nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, called self-driving cars “rolling surveillance devices” that passively collect massive amounts of information on Americans in plain sight.

In the context of national security however, the data-hungry Chinese cars have received surprisingly little scrutiny. Some experts have compared them to Chinese-owned social media site TikTok, which has been subjected to a forced divestiture or ban on U.S. soil due to fears around its data collection practices threatening national security.

Matthew W. Daus, Esq.
Partner and Chairman, Windels Marx Transportation Practice Group
President, International Association of Transportation Regulators,
Transportation Technology Chair, University Transportation Research Center
Contact: mdaus@windelsmarx.com
156 West 56th Street | New York, NY 10019T. 212.237.1106 | F. 212.262.1215

Source: Fortune
https://fortune.com/2024/07/08/chinese-self-driving-cars-us-roads-data-collection-surveillance-national-security-concerns-investigation

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Olympics Have Drawn Millions But Rarely Sell Out
Number Tickets Sold/Available since 1984

With the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics two weeks away, the French capital is bracing for an onslaught of visitors from all around the world. Along with 10,500 athletes, 20,000 accredited journalists and 45,000 volunteers, millions of spectators will descend on Paris in the coming weeks to watch the 329 events at 35 venues located in Paris, across the country and, with Tahiti’s iconic Teahupo’o wave, even overseas.

As our chart shows, Paris 2024 is on track to be historic in terms of paying spectators. With roughly 9 million of the available 10 million tickets sold as of April 2024, the Paris Olympics have already exceeded the previous record of 8.3 million tickets sold for Atlanta 1996. Given the expected record-breaking attendance, Paris 2024 will be in stark contrast to Tokyo 2020, which was postponed to 2021 and held behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It remains to be seen whether Paris 2024 can achieve something that neither Rio, nor London or Beijing have managed: sell out all available tickets. With 97 percent of all available tickets sold, London 2012 came closest to selling out in the past four decades, while Athens 2004 struggled most to fill the venues with just 71 percent of tickets sold.

By Felix Richter, Statista

   

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

DFPI Revokes Finance Lending License
of Synapse Credit LLC

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced it has issued an order revoking the California Financing Law license of Synapse Credit LLC (Synapse Credit), a subsidiary of the self-described “Banking as a Service” company Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc.  Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2024, setting in motion a chain of events that left thousands of consumers without access to their funds.

DFPI Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett said, “Financial technology innovation has the potential to provide access to financial services for millions of American.

“But successful innovation requires responsibility and transparency. This action is just one example of the DFPI’s steadfast commitment to protecting consumers and encouraging a trusted financial marketplace.”

Synapse Credit is a finance lending company based in San Francisco that offers loans to individuals and businesses.  After the bankruptcy filing of its parent company, the DFPI commenced a regulatory examination of Synapse Credit.  As part of that regulatory examination, the DFPI sought books and records, reports, and other data used by the company, to assess whether it was operating in conformity with the California Financing Law.  Despite multiple requests, no documents were provided.

Synapse Credit’s failure to provide the requested information prevented the DFPI from conducting its regulatory examination and ensuring that the company was complying with the California Financing Law. As a result of the revocation order, Synapse Credit is no longer permitted to engage in the business of finance lending in the State of California.

The DFPI continues to monitor the impact of the bankruptcy of Synapse Financial Technologies, Inc.

About DFPI
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) protects consumers, regulates financial services, and fosters responsible innovation. The DFPI protects consumers by establishing and enforcing financial regulations that promote transparency and accountability. We empower all Californians to access a fair and equitable financial marketplace through education and preventing potential risks, fraud, and abuse. Learn more at dfpi.ca.gov.

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Federal Reserve Board fines Citigroup $60.6 million
for violating the Board’s 2020 enforcement action

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday fined Citigroup $60.6 million for violating the Board's 2020 enforcement action.

Citigroup has made insufficient progress remediating its problems with data quality management and failed to implement compensating controls to manage its ongoing risk. The Board continues to monitor Citigroup's actions to comply with the 2020 action, which remains in effect.

The Board's action is being taken in coordination with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The penalties announced by the Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency total approximately $135.6 million.

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13 Earn Principles of Equipment Leasing
& Finance Certificates from ELFA

Washington, D.C. – The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association announced that 13 attendees completed its two-day, instructor-led “Principles of Equipment Leasing and Finance” curriculum in June, which culminated in their completing an exam and being awarded certificates of achievement signifying their exposure to and understanding of the basics of equipment leasing and finance. They are:

• Scott Davidson, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust
• Jake Domres, Trans Lease, Inc.
• Ali Kaddou, VFS LLC
• Abby King, Huntington Equipment Finance
• John Kounalis, Trans Lease, Inc.
• Annie Marshall, Solifi
• Dan Reveles, Hyundai Capital America
• Mariana Robeaux, KLC Financial LLC
• Daan Slaats, Huntington Equipment Finance
• Thanh Tran, TrinityRail Leasing & Management Services
• Jerell Vincent, Fifth Third Bank, National Association
• Jacob Williams, Magnolia Bank
• Cameron Meade, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association

The course was led by retired credit executive and long-time ELFA member Kevin P. Prykull, CLFP, Adjunct Professor in Finance at Duquesne University.

The Principles of Equipment Leasing and Finance Workshop is designed to teach the fundamentals of personal property commercial equipment leasing and finance. The program provides participants with a strong foundation on how the equipment finance business works and where their individual responsibilities fit into the workflow, as well as an opportunity to network with industry colleagues. Attendees earn 19 CPE credits—ELFA is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.

The next Principles Workshop will take place Nov. 6-8 at ELFA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. ELFA members also have the option to host a Principles Workshop at their own facilities. For more information, please visit https://www.elfaonline.org/POL.

About ELFA
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) represents financial services companies and manufacturers in the $1 trillion U.S. equipment finance sector. ELFA’s 575 member companies provide essential financing that helps businesses acquire the equipment they need to operate and grow. Learn how equipment finance contributes to businesses’ success, U.S. economic growth, manufacturing and jobs at www.elfaonline.org

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Watch at Home
by Fernando Croce, Leasing News Movie Reviewer

Part of the countercultural generation of actors that also includes Al Pacino and Gene Hackman, Donald Sutherland (1935-2024) showcased a beautifully unconventional charisma in a variety of classics ranging from drama to comedy to horror. Check out our list for a few of this one-of-a-kind star’s best roles.

M*A*S*H (1970): Sutherland’s early roles made him an anti-establishment icon with young audiences, as evidenced in this irreverent comedy classic from iconoclastic filmmaker Robert Altman. Taking place during the Korean War but clearly pointing toward Vietnam, the story catalogs the shenanigans in a madcap military medical unit, in particular surgeons “Hawkeye” Pierce (Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould). Clashing with authorities as soon as they arrive at the camp, they delight in practical jokes that drive such establishment figures as Major Burns (Robert Duvall) and Major “Hot Lips” (Sally Kellerman) crazy. Combining a preference for dry martinis with a distaste for bureaucracy nonsense, the characters find release in a no-holds-barred football game. The sardonic chemistry between Sutherland and Elliott propels the film’s pitch-black, censors-defying verve.

Klute (1971): Jane Fonda won the Best Actress Oscar, but Sutherland is every bit as engrossing in this classic of Seventies paranoia from director Alan J. Pakula (“All the President’s Men”). Fonda plays Bree Daniel, a high-priced New York call girl whose resourceful veneer is cracked by fear as she becomes the target of a dangerous mystery stalker. Enter John Klute (Sutherland), a small-town detective who’s hired to follow her and grows from voyeur to protector as they develop feelings for each other. Pakula peerlessly uses cinematic style to create a sense of darkly enveloping dread in the urban forms surrounding the characters. Wisely, however, he keeps the story’s center attuned to the performances of his actors, with Sutherland’s deft self-effacement perfectly supporting Fonda’s anxious bravura.

1900 (1976): Opposite Sutherland’s extraordinary gentleness is his gleeful loathsomeness in this astonishing epic from Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (“Last Tango in Paris”), which marks one of the actor’s earliest villainous roles. The story follows two men born at the beginning of the century, aristocratic scion Alfredo Berlinghieri (Robert De Niro) and rebellious peon Olmo Dalco (Gerard Depardieu). Close friends as children despite their class differences, they see their bond tested by the historical shifts that place them on opposite sides of political conflicts, including the rise of fascism and World War Two. The cast includes Burt Lancaster, Sterling Hayden, Dominique Sanda and Alida Valli, with Sutherland unforgettably slimy as Attila, the cruel foreman who works at Alfredo’s farm and leaves a trail of atrocities in his wake.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): The 1950s science-fiction classic is strikingly reimagined in this exceptional thriller from director Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff”). Set in a funky San Francisco of fads and oddballs, it chronicles an alien invasion through its effects on a group of eccentric characters. Matthew (Sutherland) and Eizabeth (Brooke Adams) are friends and Health Department coworkers who begin to suspect something sinister is afoot when Elizabeth’s husband begins acting strangely. Along with another offbeat couple (Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright), they uncover a plot by extraterrestrial visitors to replace humans with emotionless doppelgangers. Filled with startling images, Kaufman’s film envisions the ultimate horror of conformity at the end of a freewheeling decade, with Sutherland providing warmly human believability as well as an indelibly shocking ending.

Ordinary People (1980): Having delivered a master class of paternal grief in “Don’t Look Now,” Sutherland is ideally cast in this powerful drama, which scored a Best Picture Oscar and marked the directorial debut of Robert Redford. The story focuses on the Jarretts, an affluent Illinois family struggling to return to normalcy in the wake of the death of their older son. Wracked with guilt over the death of his brother, troubled teenager Conrad (Timothy Hutton, in an Oscar-winning performance) returns home after a stint at a mental clinic. He finds solace with his equally traumatized father (Sutherland) but clashes with his mother (Mary Tyler Moore), who’s processing pain by ignoring it. What follows is a wrenching but ultimately hopeful study of familial love in the face of emotional affliction.

Fernando Croce is a nationally recognized film reviewer and has been contributing to Leasing News since 2008. His reviews appear each Friday.

Rottweiler, Husky
Duncan, BC, Canada   Adopt-a-Dog

Meet Henry

This is Henry, a rambunctious and adventurous ball of fun! Henry has been having a blast in his foster home as he awaits a fur-ever family. There’s nothing better than going for walks, having off leash zoomies, playing with plushy toys, and cooling off in a little doggie pool according to him! When he greets you, he loves to give kisses <3.

Not much is known about Henry's previous life but this boy really makes the best of his life now! He's a happy go lucky boy that enjoys his people and doesn't seem to get too bothered by other dogs. He may get along with your dog given the right introduction. He has even made a neighbor dog friend in his foster home. That being said, small things are a BLAST to chase for this boy so we think he'd do best in a home without cats or other small critters to chase.

Henry will need some basic training in his new home and would benefit from an Animal Kind trainer. This will help with basic commands and set him up for success as he adjusts to a new home.

If you are interested in meeting or applying for Henry, please fill out the application below! Henry is currently hanging out in a foster home so will be unavailable for walk in meet and greets at this time.

Application:
https://spca.bc.ca/survey/dog-adoption-application-cowichan/

BC SPCA Provincial Office
1245 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1R1
1-855-622-7722 (toll-free)
For Information:
donations@spca.bc.ca
https://spca.bc.ca/

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Early Bird Registration Available
NVLA Annual Conference, October 16 -18
Wyndham Grand, Clearwater Beach, Florida

Keynote Speaker

Michelle "Mace" Curran, Combat Veteran, Former
USAF Thunderbird Lead Solo, F-16 Fighter Pilot

Michelle Curran has led an impressive career as a Fighter Pilot during her 13 years in the United States Air Force. From 2019-2021, she flew as the only female pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds and performed for millions across the country and internationally. Michelle was also named the Distinguished Alumna of the Year by the University of St. Thomas in 2021. She has been featured on several well-known media platforms, including The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS Evening News, and Glamour.

For more information and to register:
https://www.nvla.org/page/2024conference

Sloan Schickler, Esq., Schickler & Schickler, will be covering the conference for Leasing News. She is also presenting there.

News Briefs

Blue Bird gets $80 million to convert
    old plant to make electric buses
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/blue-bird-gets-80-million-to-convert-old-plant-to-make-electric-buses/EQEXX4KRCVHWDBFC5ZFS4UVM2M/

More than a million Houstonians face heat
    wave without power in Beryl’s wake
https://www.courthousenews.com/more-than-a-million-houstonians-face-heat-wave-without-power-in-beryls-wake

Delta says the Olympics will cost it $100 million
    as travelers skip Paris
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/11/delta-paris-olympics-hit.html

Kroger IDs nearly 600 stores it will sell as part
    of Albertsons acquisition: Report
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/kroger-grocery-chain-grocer-food-consumer-business-albertsons-cs-wholesale-600-stores-sell-acquisition-merger

Food companies feel the pain as
    consumers reject higher prices
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/07/11/pepsi-conagra-food-prices-inflation/ 

Hawaii fire grows to 410 acres, closes national park
    Less than a year after multiple blazes destroyed Lahaina
https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/maui-hawaii-brush-fire-closes-haleakala-19568139.php

Biden awards $1.7 billion to boost electric vehicle   
    manufacturing and assembly in eight states
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/11/business/biden-17-billion-electric-vehicle-manufacturing/

Biden’s Pick to Lead F.D.I.C. Faces Little
    Resistance in Senate Hearing
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/business/romero-fdic-confirmation-hearing.html

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Assessed at nearly $2 million, Nantucket waterfront
   home sells for just $200,000
‘Inevitably the ocean will win.’
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/11/metro/nantucket-waterfront-home-sold-erosion/

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Sports Briefs---

For USA Basketball, long road to Paris
    Olympics gets off to good start
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/teams-usa-basketball-paris-olympics/

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California News Briefs---

Intuit slashes hundreds of SF Bay Area jobs,
   tech layoffs top 45,000
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/07/11/intuit-tech-economy-jobs-layoff-mountain-view-bay-area-turbotax-employ/

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Gimme that Wine

 

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

A major portion of this year’s California
    wine harvest could go to waste
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/grape-harvest-vineyard-california-19563052.php

Winery debuts limited-release Pinot Noir with
a mission to support local journalism
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/wine/?ref=nav

Sonoma County vineyards beat the heat.
For now
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/california-heat-wave-vineyards/

This Oscar-winning actor is headlining California
Wine Country’s Festival del Sole revival
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/robert-redford-festival-wine-country-19567878.php

Secrets of the Soil:
 Can a New Regenerative Viticulture Study Reveal
How Cultural Practices Affect Soil Microbial Behavior?
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/289501

Ontario LCBO strike sows supply-chain havoc
for alcohol importers, restaurants
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ontario-liquor-strike-sows-supply-chain-havoc-for-alcohol-importers/

Seventeen Sonoma County Vineyard Employees Return
from ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ to Washington, D.C.
https://mailchi.mp/sonomawinegrape/a-historic-trip-to-washington-dc-for-our-leadership-academy-9608200?e=adfb7c9371

PLCB must refund ‘tens of millions of dollars’
it charged for shipping fees, court says
https://www.inquirer.com/food/restaurants/plcb-court-case-special-order-shipping-fees-20240709.html