Broker Fair Sets Record Attendance
Up 75% Since Inception
By Don Cosenza

Finance professionals from across the nation congregated in New York City’s Soho district on May 19 to attend Broker Fair, deBanked’s annual small business-to-business commercial finance conference.  Its appeal has continued to expand as more than 700 people registered for this year’s spring show, up a considerable 75 percent since the event debuted in 2018.

Sean Murray, President & Chief Editor, deBanked, said, “We set a new benchmark and that’s very rewarding. The entire team worked diligently to ensure the event was a valuable, education-filled experience for all those in attendance.  As we forge ahead, we will continue to hit the reset button to ensure our agenda remains fresh, pertinent and indispensable.”

Broker Fair, held at Tribeca 360, one of New York City’s premier business venues, featured a variety of sessions. Hot topics included building trust with clients, the art of lead generation, and the latest trends in small business finance. Guest speakers were James Webster, the founder and executive chairman of ROK Financial and Carl Brabander, EVP of Strategy at IOU Financial.

As Murray explained, Broker Fair appeals to constituents across the small business finance spectrum including lenders, brokers and vendors who specialize in factoring, merchant cash advance, SBA lending, real estate financing, and equipment financing. Regarding the latter, many brokers in attendance either already offer equipment loans and leases for their customers, or plan to do so in the near future.

“Traditionally, Broker Fair has appealed to working capital providers. What we’re finding, though, is that many brokers are offering multiple products to meet the myriad needs of their clients.  Gone are the days of the ‘one and done’ product line. As such, we want to provide the networking platform our attendees need to close a deal, whether it be an MCA, an SBA loan, or an equipment finance lease.” 

In addition to covering new products, best practices and emerging technologies, the conference provides a valuable networking platform.

“I’ve witnessed firsthand as attendees who met earlier in the day transform from virtual strangers into clients, partners, or collaborators,” explained Murray. Indeed, he received an email after closing remarks from a broker who secured a large-sized deal with a lender he met during lunch. “It’s extremely gratifying for us to see the role we’re playing in fueling the engine that propels our industry forward.”

Later this year, deBanked will sponsor another major conference, the B2B Finance Expo in Las Vegas, October 28 – 29, 2025. For more information, please contact Sean Murray at sean@debanked.com.

Don Cosenza
dcostenza@usa.com
203-435-1230

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Valerie Carwell, CLFP, was promoted to  Senior Business Development Representative, Navitas Credit Corporation. She is located in West Columbia, South Carolina. She joined September, 2018 as Customer Service Representative.  Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-carwell-clfp-44a31123a/details/experience/

Michael Cole was hired as Account Manager, Vice President, Arvest Aviation, Bentonville, Arkansas. He is located in Fort Smith, Arkansas.   He previously was self-employed as Aviation Specialty Consulting Group (September, 2024 - May, 2025), Senior Vice President, Northwest Bank (February, 2023 - July, 2024); Senior Vice President, Wintrust Commercial Finance-Aviation Group (May, 2021 - October, 2022); Managing Director, Aviation, Bank OZK (May, 2016 - April, 2021). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cole-05325a5/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cole-05325a5/

Tom Haug was hired as National Account Executive, Equipment Leasing Group of America, Greater Chicago Area. He will work on-site. Previously, he was at Meridian Leasing, starting August, 1999, Product Manager, promoted Director of Product Management, June, 2016, promoted Vice President of Product Management (July, 2021 - December, 2024).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhaug/

Bryan Goodwin was promoted  Senior Vice President, CSI Leasing, Inc., at their Texas Office. He is located in Stafford, Texas. Previously, he was Vice President, November, 2021, Account Executive (July, 2021 - November, 2021).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryangoodwin

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CLFP Foundation Adds 19 New CLFPs
With Photo’s

The Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) Foundation is pleased to announce that 19 individuals who recently sat through the online proctored CLFP exam have passed. They are:

Robert Bimson, CLFP – Senior Manager,
Lease Operations,
CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Shane Cesarz, CLFP – Portfolio
 Manager, The Huntington National Bank

Mark Comtois, CLFP Associate – Senior
Manager, Lease Operations,
CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Heather Cummings, CLFP – Director of
Operations-Equipment Finance,
Commerce Bank

Megan Holloway, CLFP – Portfolio
Manager, Assistant Vice President,
The Huntington National Bank

Neal Hultstrand, CLFP – Relationship
Manager, CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Michael Larson, CLFP – Senior
Asset Management Analyst, CoBank
Farm Credit Leasing

Spencer Lash, CLFP – Technology
Finance – Portfolio Manager – Staff
Officer, The Huntington National Bank

Matthew Mazarakis, CLFP – Senior
Relationship Manager,
CoBank, Farm Credit Leasing

Adrian McNulty, CLFP – Commercial
Relationship Services Specialist Senior,
The Huntington National Bank

Shutong Meng, CLFP
Senior Portfolio Manager, AVP,
The Huntington National Bank

Caroline Miller, CLFP – Operations
Director – Equipment Finance,
The Huntington National Bank

Megan Nielsen, CLFP – Account Manager,
CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Daniel Shepard, CLFP – Director of Finance,
CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Kathleen Simmons, CLFP – Equipment
Finance Sales Coordinator II,
The Huntington National Bank

Camela Thomas, CLFP – Vice President,
Documentation, Avtech Capital, LLC

Hilary Vasquez, CLFP – Sales Operations
Manager, CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Dean Wick, Jr., CLFP – Senior Credit
Analyst, CoBank Farm Credit Leasing

Wendy Wilson, CLFP – Commercial
Relationship Service Specialist, Sr.,
The Huntington National Bank

Megan Nielsen attended the CoBank Farm Credit Leasing ALFP and shares, “My pursuit of the CLFP designation stemmed from a deep desire to not only enhance my knowledge, but also to solidify my expertise and credibility in the leasing and finance industry. Through the CLFP program, I have gained insights into the complexities of leasing, empowering me to provide exceptional service to our internal and external partners.”

Hilary Vasquez adds, “The pursuit of the CLFP designation is one step in the journey of becoming the best equipment finance employee I can be. By tackling this task with a cohort at Farm Credit Leasing, I was able to not only gain a deeper understanding of the equipment finance industry but also built bonds with my teammates.”

The CLFP designation identifies an individual as a knowledgeable professional to employers, clients, customers, and peers in the commercial equipment finance industry. There are Certified Lease & Finance Professionals and Associates located throughout the United States (including Puerto Rico), Canada, India, Pakistan, Africa, and Australia. For more information, visit http://www.CLFPFoundation.org

Balboa Capital Available Position
Program Manager II- Equipment Broker Sales

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Don't Overlook Community or Regional Banks
They Are Looking for New Relationships
More Than Ever Before

Looking now more than ever due to the economy and stronger market presence by larger, syndicated banks, it is time to make friends to help them, and yourself, obtain loans and leases.

You will find bank officers do not like to look for leasing, but on occasion, one of their customers may ask about it. After they try and talk them out of it, they may search for alternatives. Therefore, one of the best markets for middle and small leasing companies is to get close to as many banks as you can for leads and funding.  You can do this also by referring your customers to them. Most decision makers spend little time going to the bank and don't know who to talk to.

The reason most community banks shy away from leasing is the high cost of setting up a back office. In addition, they do not understand the documentation, don’t like the liability that exposes them as “lessor”, and many customers have complained about extra payments, deposits not returned, being hit with “fair market value” when they thought it was a $1.00 purchase option, or Evergreen Payments. Bankers are particularly not interested in reconciling the difference in an operating lease between a tax lease payoff and a book payoff.

To gain a bank’s trust, you need to explain your procedures and request that a bank loan officer accompany you on a few calls. They need to see how you react with their customers before they will allow you to contact a customer with their blessing. It is also a good idea to bring your leasing customer or vendor to the bank as a depositor or for other types of business besides leasing. It is an opportunity for you as well as the bank to create new business.

One of the reasons banks look to have someone do leases for them is when a customer is reaching their legal lending limit and they are afraid the customer may move to a larger bank. If you make a lease and use your credit to borrow from the bank, they can fund to you and save their customer. It may change your funding procedure on that customer so you may have to borrow the money our own credit because it would be hard to sell it or fund it with another bank.

Even though banks view leasing as fancy loans, you need to explain how leases can improve their return on investment by offering terms that are not usual in lending. For example, off irregular payments and terms that coincide with when the lessee needs to change equipment instead of just offering full year terms.

Banks are an excellent source of leads, but they require a lot of work and time because they look at us in the same light as used car salespersons looking for Good, Solid Small Business.

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Job Seekers’ Confidence Dips Again
Confidence To Get or Keep a Job

Hiring is slowing and job seekers are feeling it.

Active job seekers are losing confidence in their ability to land or hold a job these days, according to the latest findings of LinkedIn's Workforce Confidence survey.

Among unemployed and employed people looking for new jobs, confidence to find — or keep — work is at +10 on a scale from -100 to +100. That's just one point off from the lows seen when the survey started five years ago. In April 2020, when the pandemic brought the economy to a standstill, confidence among active job seekers was at +9.

Economic uncertainty has also been impacting confidence this year. Job confidence typically spikes in January due to New Year's optimism but this January, job confidence hit +20, already down 11 points year-over-year from +31. It has since tumbled to +10.

Do these findings line up with what you'd expect? What advice do you have for someone navigating a challenging job hunt right now?

Taylor Borden
Allie Lewis
LinkedIn News

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Top Ten Most Read by Readers
May 20 to May 23

(1) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.htm#hires

(2) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/

(3) The Dominoes Begin To Fall:
  Roglieri Associate Pleads Guilty
By Ken Greene, Chief Leasing News Legal Editor, Emeritus
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.htm#dominoes

(4) CLFP Foundation Adds 17 New CLFPs
With Photos
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_20.htm#clfp

(5) Kris Roglieri Trial Set in Stone January 5, 2026
By Ken Greene, Chief Leasing News Legal Editor, Emeritus
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_20.htm#roglieri

(6) A Fire Sale of Portland’s Largest Office Tower Shows
How Far the City Has Fallen                                                                  
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/a-fire-sale-of-portlands-largest-office-tower-shows-how-far-the-city-has-fallen-322e0f2d?st=LegYPu&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

(7) Why the consumer sentiment plunge is different now                            
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/19/tariffs-consumer-economy-sentimen

(8) American Financial Partners Marks 20 Years
with Strategic Growth, New Divisions
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.htm#afp

(9) ACFB Meet the Funder - Channel
    Wednesday, May 28 at 2:00 PM CST
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.ht
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.htm#aacfb

(10) Navigating Uncertainty with Opportunity
By Scott Wheeler, CLFP
https://leasingnews.org/archives/May2025/05_23.htm#nav

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