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November 5, 2001 Headlines--- Bulletin Board Posting—Two Alerts United Association of Equipment Leasing By-Law Controversy Broker Agreements Streamlined Sales Project—Dennis Brown, ELA Fair, Isaac and Baker Hill Premier, Browser-Based Credit Origination Service for Small Business Lenders Equipment Leasing Association 40th Annual Conference Report by Susan Carol technologywriters.com; ##denotes press release. ___________________________________________________________________ Bulletin Board Postings---- Two Bulletin Board Alerts ( Leasing News has not been able to contact the people named, and in the posting to the Bulletin Board by Saddleback Financial, we have tried since October 16,2001 to contact by e-mail and telephone the person named in the complaint. There is the issue of “fairness” and being “accurate” which we have attempted to do. After discussion with the Leasing News Advisory Board, it was decided to print these “alerts’ but to delete the person’s name. editor ) Tribex Capital Resume Fraud----- Alert for people in the No Cal area that there is a bogus sales rep looking for work and the certain resume items have been falsified. For legal reasons we cannot name this individual however it would be highly advisable to check all references, including stated educational background, on any applicants for the time being. I think that you could also state that the individual "reportedly had something to do with a now defunct company known as Tribex Capital". I was an investor (the sole investor) in Tribex and I was named as an officer, incorrectly. Tribex was designed to originate small lease financing, and quickly failed. I very much appreciate your email. I was not aware that the website still existed. I have been in business at this location for over twenty years, and am deeply discouraged by Mr. ***** apparent deceit. (Tribex was "officed" in an executive suite in Irvine, and never shared our office. Sincerely, Jim Riley Sierra Capital 2699 White Road, Suite 255 Irvine, CA 92614 949-660-1144 ext. 16 fax: 949-660-0632 __________________________________________________________________ Regional Sales Manager for Saddleback Financial Saddleback Financial Corporation has received information on an individual who is currently circulating a fraudulent resume indicating that he is a current sales manager for Saddleback and one of our company’s top producers. This individual’s name is ****** who resides in ( the Southwest). ***** originally provided another fraudulent resume to Saddleback in May of 1999. At that time he had represented that he was a top producer for Americorp Financial, Inc. and had been with the company for almost 3 years. He asked us not to contact his current employer since they were unaware of his seeking other employment. He also provided historical sales figures through May of l999 averaging $300,000 per month. We flew****** to our Orange office and he presented a very professional front. He even talked in detail of deals he closed in the past 60 days. We hired **** in June and setup an executive office for him in Phoenix. Our first indication of a problem was when our human resources department was following up checking references including educational background. A previous employer in the early 90’s had only a short-term relationship with **** where he had indicated a 3-year employment. The employment application showed a B.S. degree from a California University. That University advised us that **** was there for only one year and had no degree. **** indicated that he had proof that would correct these discrepancies at his mother’s house but she was in the process of moving. After 2 months of minimal submissions and no booked business, we started to investigate the applications that were submitted from ****. The lessees had no contact or knowledge of **** **** and most were not even purchasing equipment. We then made the decision to call his most recent employer before Saddleback, Americorp. They indicated that **** was only with there operation for a 6 month period of time and wrote no business. We now knew for sure that **** had given us false and fraudulent information. We were able to change the lock on our executive suite but never recovered a lap top computer that was missing. ****’s phone number then was disconnected and we learned a lesson in checking references prior to hiring any individual in the future. Just today, we were faxed a copy of ****’s most current resume which was sent to one of funding sources and a direct lender. That resume began with Saddleback and said the following: “Regional Sales Manager, Saddleback Financial Corp., Phoenix, AZ 11/98 to Current” · Experience selling equipment leases and service to vendors and end users. · Specializing in computer and high technology equipment. · Leases ranging from $50,000 - $500,000. · Have lease approval rating of 78% · 2000 sales volume of 4.8 Million. · Top 3 sales rep in company. We are putting this information out to the industry so people like **** **** can not easily continue to lie and put out false information to other perspective employers. Phylis Gordon Sr. Funding Coordinator pgordon@saddlebackfinancial.com Saddleback Financial Corporation Orange, CA ____________________________________________________________________ United Association of Equipment Leasing By-Law Controversy Here is a faster download, should you want to see the UAEL Ballot: http://www.leasingnews.org/PDFFiles/UAEL%20Ballot%202.pdf Stop the Bickering About United Association of Equipment Leasing!!! From: Jim Merrilees FIRSTCORP 7145 SW Varns Street Portland, OR 97223 jimm@firstcorp.com 503-598-4150 For all of you who like to bitch and complain about UAEL and new policies I have a recommendation. Get involved on committees, tasks forces and the board. Make a difference and be part of the solutions. Why all the paranoia? Communication to your funding source on a continuous basis will only strengthen the trust and ensure a lasting relationship. Helping reduce losses or potential losses should be in everyone's best interest. I have been doing business with brokers since 1987. Rarely did I get money back from them, but the ones who know what they are doing always stayed connected and helped when there was a need. Those kinds of people survive and are here today after many years. UAEL has limited resources, as do all organizations. The primary goal is to service the members. To ask staff to respond to every scenario is not practical. Asking to recoup cost is prudent and will help eliminate frivolous requests. Finally, I resent the label "good ole boys". The board and executive committee are a diverse group of dedicated people. If you don't know who they are just log on to the website. You will see who they are. Good people who have giving more to the industry more then they will ever get back. This is the time in our country and our industry to pull together. That does not mean we have to agree. I didn't always get my way when I was on the board, but I respected the decisions made. Chuck Brazier and his board are dedicated. So are Joanie and the staff. Give them some support and stop bickering. ~~~~ From: Steven B. Geller, CLP Leasing Solutions LLC www.leasingsolutionsllc.com 20 Dike Drive, Wesley Hills, NY 10952 sgeller@leasingsolutionsllc.com phone:(845)362-6106 fax: (845) 354-2803 cell phone: (914) 552-0842 John: What is your problem? I am a member of the Advisory Board. You don't know me, but have cynically used words like "esteemed" and "beloved". For what reasons? The "anonymous" concept is to protect those people concerned about their employment. Why would someone need to use "anonymous" relating to an association? I don't know you. What association(s) do you belong to? It seems you have a problem with the UAEL or is it with any association? Do you have a problem with belonging to an association? I belong to four! They are all extremely beneficial to me. In fact, I could not remain in business without belonging to these groups and volunteering for any task asked of me by these associations. I, also, am a Trustee of the CLP Foundation. I believe the term "beloved" is not what anyone would consider their emotions relating to an association. That is a term reserved to family, in my opinion. I don't like your use of "esteemed". Do you know that the members of Leasing News advisory board are industry leaders. We get no financial benefit from LN, but as a sounding board for our opinions on what to publish. We have many fights relating to that, as well. Could I interest you in association volunteer work? I have enough "connections" to find you a task that would help the industry and, as you will find, will enrich you knowledge of the industry and the benefits of membership. If you contact me I will offer suggestions on which association to join. Too much money? All it takes is closing one deal to make industry membership worthwhile! Get off the sidelines! ~~~ from: Deborah J. Monosson The reason why associations exist is to serve their members not their boards. If members do not speak up then the boards serve only themselves. By speaking up that means showing your face and your opinions. I serve on three boards, I know how they run, I know what is taken seriously and what is not. What is not taken seriously are anonymous comments. What is taken seriously are members who speak out for what they want from their organization and what they pay for. Its your money and your association. Instead of trying to play politics, play straight and show your face. Sincerely, Deborah J. Monosson President BOSTON FINANCIAL & EQUITY CORPORATION 20 Overland Street Boston Massachusetts 02215 617-267-2900 617-437-7601 Fax debbie@bfec.com Visit us at http://www.bfec.com ~~~ From: Bob Rodi, CLP President LeaseNOW, Inc. drlease@leasenow.com www.leasenow.com 1-800-321-LEAS (5327)x 101 Kit, As the UAEL president that appointed the task force that proposed the "controversial" changes I have to speak up here. The evolution of these changes came about from constant complaints that I received during my year as president. Ask any of the recent presidents and you will find that they also received many calls pointing fingers at competitors about ethics complaints. Some of these are totally legitimate and involve some of the better known violators whom we all know of and don't have to mention again. Many of them are from people who lose deals for a variety of reasons and instead of looking to their own shortcomings it is easier to accuse a competitor of an ethics violation. The Association (I'm sure it's all of the Associations)have to weed through these and determine if the complaints are legitimate. This is the true job of the Standards Committee. The UAEL task force was comprised of 9 people that spanned our membership and represented a cross section of the leasing community. There were funding sources, brokers, and attorneys. The task force members were selected for their experience, their strong stands on ethics, and their commitment to the Association and the industry at large. Many members had complained that there were no "teeth" in our Standards. Many people, saw it as the duty of the Association to take a "proactive" approach against violators of the Standards of Professional Practice. The task force was charged with taking this duty as far as was practical given the resources that we could bring to bear upon the problem. Last year, in an article I wrote in leasingnews.org, I pointed out that it appeared to me that many people wanted "teeth" in the Standards but they only wanted them to apply to other companies and not their own. Those that complain to you anonymously now provide evidence of this in my opinion. I have a major problem understanding the objection to the "post funding disclosure" clause that is the source of so much of the consternation that surrounds the by-law change. The current by-law does not "exempt" members from post funding disclosure, it simply does not state it as clearly as the amended by-law. I totally agree with you in asking the question "What could possibly be the objection to this clarification?" I can only speculate that a clearly stated post disclosure addition to UAEL Standard #8 raises the specter of violations of representations and warranties, either real or imagined. Splitting a transaction and not disclosing it may be more difficult. Learning something about the financial condition of a company on a subsequent "application only" transaction that may alter a "business decision" should absolutely be disclosed even if that disclosure means the application would have to be withdrawn or declined. "Funding Sources" who are tied to the capital markets and securitization facilities are also responsible for post funding disclosures so advancing the argument that it only applies to brokers is ludicrous. It also raises the question as to why such a disclosure should bother a broker unless there was (a) something to hide, or(b)something that was being circumvented by not disclosing information. This will also provide the Association with the tools to question the funding sources if they are doing business with people who violate these standards. Receipt of five verbal complaints regarding standards violations allows the UAEL to begin a proactive process of examining these matters that will bring members in line with our Standards. As members of the UAEL or any other association the goal of our Standards committee should be to advance the ethical framework by which our members will "govern" themselves. Once we have clearly established this we need to leverage adherence to Standards by enhancing the public perception of UAEL members or members of any association that has a good set of standards and uses the process of the Standards committee to enforce the standards. If this campaign is conducted properly, over time the collective customer base will become knowledgeable about industry standards. The customer can then make an honest evaluation of those who profess to adhere to the standards and those who do not. I sincerely hope that the proposed amendments to the UAEL by-laws pass. If they do not I would personally consider it a sad commentary on the state of ethics in our industry and, were I a funding source, I would add strict language to my representations and warranties that left no loop hole with regard to disclosure that protected my employees and my other business sources. Broker Agreements from: Jim Fleming
Good morning Kit I am compelled to respond to Mr. Runnall's comment that broker agreements have evolved into essentially recourse agreements. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines recourse, in the legal sense, as "the right to demand payment from the maker or endorser of a negotiable instrument". The concept of endorsement dates back at least to the time when Proverbs were written by Solomon. Endorsement essentially means the guaranty of another's solvency or payment. Broker agreements do not ask the broker to endorse the solvency or guaranty the debt repayment of another. They do require that the broker guaranty everything else about the lease paper: the enforceability of the contract, the authenticity of the signatures, and the integrity of the information provided to the buyer of the lease paper, which was relied upon to purchase the contract in the first place. In the nearly twenty years I've been in this business, the spirit of broker agreements has changed little. It is the language which has changed to better define that spirit, likely in response to broker agreements being challenged when the funding source attempted to exercise its rights under the their agreement. In other words, there has been a recurring debate between "I didn't know" and "You should have known". Broker agreements have simply been sharpened to change from implying to outright expressing that "you should know". Representations and warrants are a fact of life for brokers in nearly every financial services industry. In the field, brokers are the funding sources eyes and ears. Direct salespeople already have someone else's set of eyes and ears, a better staffed front-room of their employer. When fraud occurs with a broker, the funding source may exercise its broker agreement. When fraud occurs on a transaction generated by a direct salesperson, someone may get fired. In either scenario, there are grave potential consequences. That is why fraud seminars at industry conferences over and over again repeat the same advise. Know your customer, perform due diligence. Respectfully, Jim Fleming National Business Credit nationalbusinesscredit@yahoo.com ~~~~ As you know I was on the ethics task force which developed the proposed changes. Unfortunately, I was told by the attorney's I cannot speak specifically about the changes. I will say confidentially, that the language about disclosure was not directed to the brokers. Actually, everyone in this business is a broker in that all the "big boys" sell their paper or securtize it and they would be held to the same standards. It also says nothing about recourse it is just if you become aware. Just good business sense if you value your relationship with your funder. Sincerely, Name With Held ~~ Streamlined Sales Project Private sector representatives await announcement of the first meeting of Governing States. Although the official statement has yet to be issued, planners continue to report it will be convened at the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown, 75 SW Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. They expect to start at 9 AM on Wednesday, November 28 and meet at least through mid-day on Thursday, November 29. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has reserved a room block at $99. Call the hotel at 801/531-0800. I will forward an official announcement of the Governing States meeting when it is available. Some attendees, especially those from the East Coast, will stay out West to attend the Streamlined Sales Tax Project meeting in Denver scheduled the following Monday and Tuesday. Let me know by email to dbrown@elamail.com if you are staying in Salt Lake City Thursday night and wish to join others interested in hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown is one block from Mormon Temple Square where the public can attend the weekly practice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir scheduled the second evening of Governing States, Thursday, November 29 at 8 PM in the Tabernacle. Dennis Brown ; _____________________________________________________________ #### ########################## ###################### Fair, Isaac and Baker Hill Announce Premier, Browser-Based Credit Origination Service for Small Business Lenders SAN RAFAEL, Calif. & CARMEL, Ind-- Companies combine industry-leading origination decision and processing technology to develop most advanced origination site in the U.S As more small business owners are seeking financial services designed for their unique needs, Fair, Isaac and Company, Inc. (NYSE:FIC), and Baker Hill Corporation announced today the release of LiquidCredit Bank2Business.com, an enhanced, browser-based origination service that makes credit decisioning and processing faster and easier to implement and use for small business lenders than any other service previously available in the U.S. The service combines the industry's best origination decision and processing technology -- Fair, Isaac's LiquidCredit(R) service and Baker Hill's Bank2Business.com(TM) -- to empower lenders to meet the credit needs of their small business customers in real time. Jointly developed as part of a strategic alliance between Fair, Isaac and Baker Hill announced earlier this year, LiquidCredit Bank2Business.com brings together the unique strengths of each company -- Fair, Isaac's creative analytics and decision engine that unlock the value of data for businesses, and Baker Hill's end-to-end loan application processing and workflow management service. The service integrates the most recent advancements developed by the two companies, including the ability to manage multiple product portfolios as well as access to the newly released 5.0 version of Fair, Isaac's Small Business Scoring Service(SM) (SBSS(SM)). According to Raffi Kassarjian, vice president and general manager of Fair, Isaac's LiquidCredit business unit, "Today, lenders who want a bigger -- and more profitable -- slice of the small business market must react quickly and effectively to the increased number of small businesses requiring credit and other financial products. The partnership between our companies is a win-win for our clients and us. We each bring the best of what we do to the market and have developed a service that offers lenders an unprecedented ability to move quickly in making informed credit decisions and efficiently processing and underwriting small business credit applications," he stated. Jim Hill, vice president of corporate strategy at Baker Hill, said, "Accuracy combined with a sound understanding of small business lending are the hallmarks of Baker Hill and Fair, Isaac's solutions. By leveraging our combined expertise in a new way for small business lenders, we have zeroed in on the central issues they face in profitably growing their business. LiquidCredit Bank2Business.com is the first service to integrate our standard-setting capabilities in a solution targeted expressly for this market," he explained. LiquidCredit Bank2Business.com will help financial institutions with small- to medium-sized portfolios evaluate and process applications for term loans, lines of credit and business credit cards. Lenders can integrate their own underwriting parameters and credit policy into the ASP technology, and rely on Fair, Isaac's analytics and Baker Hill technology to process and underwrite the loan. The application is then forwarded for a comprehensive decisioning process, which includes loan-to-value calculation, debt coverage evaluation, financial ratio analysis, credit report pull, and generation of a credit score. And because the service is browser-based, lenders will not have to invest the time and money previously required to deploy the technology in-house, affording easy implementation in weeks with substantial savings in capital investments and ongoing maintenance. Growth of small businesses in the U.S. has increased steadily over the last decade. Today, more than half of all U.S. employers are small businesses, according to the Small Business Administration. In the early 1990s, Fair, Isaac helped spark the small business credit revolution with the introduction of SBSS -- the industry's first automated credit decisioning system. SBSS is the foundation for Fair, Isaac's LiquidCredit -- a solution that delivers the most advanced decisioning capability available today through creative analytics and decision engines that enable more profitable, real-time credit origination decisions and product matches. Baker Hill introduced OnePoint, the business banking industry's original, integrated relationship management solution, and used its business banking expertise to launch the first application service provider (ASP) to enable end-to-end processing and underwriting of small business credit products. Today, 90 percent of small business lenders in the U.S. use Fair, Isaac analytics to support their credit decisions. And nearly 1,000 small business lenders in the U.S. and Latin America rely on Baker Hill's banking solutions to streamline their business processes. LiquidCredit Bank2Business.com is currently available throughout the U.S. and will be marketed by both Fair, Isaac and Baker Hill. About Fair, Isaac Fair, Isaac and Company is a global provider of customer analytics and decision technology. Widely recognized for its pioneering work in credit scoring, Fair, Isaac revolutionized the way lending decisions are made. Today the company helps clients in multiple industries increase the value of customer relationships. Fair, Isaac has made the Forbes list of the top 200 U.S. small companies nine times in the last ten years. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, the company reported revenues of $329 million for fiscal 2001. For more information, visit www.fairisaac.com or call 800/999-2955. About Baker Hill Located in Carmel, Indiana, Baker Hill has earned a leadership role in providing technology solutions targeting the complete life cycle of the business banking process. In business since 1983, Baker Hill solutions are currently in use at nearly 1000 financial institutions, including 3 of the top 10 commercial lenders. For more information visit www.bank2business.com or www.bakerhill.com or call 800/821-2220. #### ################## ############################ Equipment Leasing Associatin 40th Annual Conference This is what I learned from the two days that I attended the convention. It is from my perspective as a public relations and marketing professional and is not intended to be full coverage of the conference. Susan Carol scapr@technologywriters.com; What’s
the secret to making a splash at the national equipment leasing convention? *Present the results of original research, *Work with the ELA, *Plan well in advance. Despite terrorist threats and economic uncertainties, the ELA’s 40th annual convention attracted more than 1,000 executives and a record number of exhibitors for this event held in Boca Raton, Fla., this week. If you want to reach the strategic thinkers and industry leaders, this is the place to be. The attendees are mostly senior-level executives who are big picture strategists that monitor the marketplace and enjoy the networking here, as well as golf and tennis.
But gray, windy weather brought people back inside and served as the perfect setting for “The Perfect Storm,” a presentation by John Deane, managing principal of The Alta Group, Reno, Nev. The presentation drew a standing-room only crowd and demonstrated that the best way to attract attention at such a crowded event is to produce market intelligence that hasn’t been previously released. The report, unveiled for the first time at the convention, examined why some 32 companies are no longer in leasing and pointed to signals that commonly lead to problems. It said many of the failures stemmed from growing too rapidly or straying too far from a company’s core strengths. To avoid sailing into stormy waters, lessors need to provide more value, make better use of technology and be mindful of their core competencies. Produced for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, an ELA organization, it concluded that recent leasing failures do not foreshadow the eventual demise of the industry. And despite dot.com failures last year, there were quite a number of technology gurus in attendance. But, rather than push e-commerce as they did in the past, technology providers this year were highlighting their ability to help lessors operate more efficiently or make better presentations to funding sources. For example, McCue Systems, based in Burlingame, Calif., was demonstrating a new module to its web-enabled software suite that assembles and streamlines enterprise-wide data into a financial overview of your leasing business. Because this company designed the module to meet the ELA-sanctioned format for financial reporting, it is expected to sell well to equipment lessors.
And rather than focus just on the need for products that automate the leasing process from end to end, Cameron Krueger of Northern Consulting, Chicago, Ill., reported on recent research his company did on leasing front-end systems. Leasing Front Office Research Survey, which debuted at the convention, found that lessors are still entering data multiple times when there are systems that can take data once and distribute it to all participants involved in a transaction. In the study, sponsored by WiredCapital, he also found that only 41 percent of some 100 people interviewed are automatically scoring credit applications; most of this work is still done on paper. Though information technology is their second largest expense (after HR costs), Krueger said lessors are missing fundamentals, failing to integrate systems and not taking technology to the next level. Krueger plans to repeat his company’s survey next year, given that such research can provide an industry benchmark and the basis for a substantial presentation. Among the many exhibitors and private party sponsors, there were well known industry-focused service providers who offer automation tools, such as McCue Systems, Ivory Consulting and International Decision Systems, and there were new entrants making a splash--SAP America and Oracle Corporation. Companies wishing to get noticed at this event had better plan early or be very creative in their strategy. When the Monitor discovered all booth space was taken very early on, this news organization made its presence well known by having its convention issue wrapped with The Wall Street Journal and delivered to attendees’ rooms. The Alta Group also managed to include a flier about its latest alliance with CS Fairview Associates in that bundle. As a writer, reporter and marketer, I realized from my experience at this convention that advance planning, an ELA connection and market research go a long way toward getting noticed in this industry. And, it is time to start researching and planning for the 41st annual convention to be held next year in San Francisco. |
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