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September 7, 2001 Headlines--- Open
Question for American
Express Business
Finance A
Question for Funders
re: American Express/Sierra
Cities
LeaseLoan
to Provide Business
Financing to GSNET “Take the ‘e” Train” by Alan
Zeppenfeld Myrrdin Releases ePowerLease Orix—Problems Here/Japan---Bloomberg
reports Dow Jones Drops 260/ Unemployment rate jumps to 4.9%% highest level in nearly four years Fridays Odds and Ends ## denotes press release __________________________________________________________________ ********************************* Open Question for American Express Business Finance "Based on
extremely
reliable insider
information, Leasing
News has been
told that a former
First Sierra employee
would be agreeable
to "give
up" Depping
in return for
a lawsuit settlement
with American
Express. The question
is,
"Does
American Express
want Thomas Depping
to ‘answer’ for actions
he may or may
not have taken?" ********************************** In our e-mail we salute a birthday each day, plus
the signature
is about American History. In the subject line, we tied
this in:
Goodbye,
American Leasing
Pie or should
it be American
Express Business
Finance--- alluding to Buddy Holly’s Birthday and the
song about him,
"American
Pie." In the e-mail, we explain this at the end, and
because of this,
we are including it in the on line version, too. editor. _________________________________________________________ A Question for All Funding Sources----Capish? Another individual known to Leasing News who did not want to be named says he was employed by Sierra Cities, came into Houston for a meeting, and at a Chinese Restaurant with Fred Van Etten, Greg McIntosh, Jim Raeder and perhaps two other people, one of whom might have been Tom Depping, when the conversation of RW Professional came up. He told the gathering he knew the company as Professional Leasing, who did a lot of dental business, when he was at the Vanguard Division of Old Kent Bank for eleven years, this person ripped them off for between $6 million to $10 million. Why should Sierra Cities do business with them? he asked. He was told Sierra Cities had the company and personal guarantee---and it was recourse, so Sierra Cities was allegedly protected. ( Now the case with American Express Business Finance centers on “what happened to the recourse agreement?” and was stock involved in the “arrangement?” What does Greg McIntosh know? Will Fred Van Etten talk? Will Jim Raeder speak publicly why he was let go at Sierra Cities? P.S. It wasn’t about Republic Leasing. The spin doctors may have put that out, but Fred Van Etten and Jim Raeder were let go for the same reason. What did Oren Hall know? Will Charlie Lester write the entire story for Leasing News, naming names, places, dates? Did it center around the Private Label Program and RW Professional? Is that why Leasing News spent three days defining private label recourse and non-recourse? Does the leasing public have the right to know to protect themselves in the future? Perhaps from a legal standpoint, do stockholders have the right to know the truth? Is fraud involved. ) How did RW allegedly get away with it with Vanguard? Here is a ethics question for readers who are funders: Broker calls up funding source and says, "How did you like the way I screwed you over for $10,000,000. Was it as good for you as it was for me? Well, I thought it was fun and now you have a decision to make---do you put me in jail and get nothing or will you settle for $3,000,000 and give me a clean bill of health, so I can go back to business as usual?" To all the funding sources, what would your answer be? If your company policy is to prosecute, how many fraudulent brokers, vendors or lessees have you brought criminal charges against in the past five years? __________________________________________________________________ ### ######################### ##################### LEASELOAN TO PROVIDE BUSINESS FINANCING TO GSNET
CUSTOMERS LeaseLoan will Enable GSNet to Provide Instant-Decision,
Online Business Financing Through the Real Time Capital Network Truckee, Calif, -- LeaseLoan, the leading provider
of real-time business financing, announced today that
it will provide
free, on-line business financing to customers of GSNet,
an on-line trading
company that facilitates business-to-business heavy equipment
trading.
LeaseLoan’s Real Time Capital Network(TM) will enable GSNet
customers business
financing with instant "decisioning," online documentation
and the best rates
possible from a marketplace of leading national and specialty
finance lenders. As a financial intermediary, LeaseLoan provides
business owners
with a no-cost, efficient method of locating the best
approval possible
for their financing request, reducing their search and execution
time.
LeaseLoan manages the transaction from start to finish, guiding
the customer through the process avoiding an awkward customer pass from
one institution
to the next. GSNet will add LeaseLoan’s Real Time Capital
Network(TM) to
its long list
of diverse online services that includes member access,
financial assistance applications and contacts, statistical analysis
and advertisement
programs. GSNet focuses on creating value through enabling
clients and consumers
to dialogue through an on-line marketplace. GSNet's
website forms
a conduit to connect people buying and selling on an international
level. Sellers
can place their information in the GSNet searchable
database for Buyers
to access. "GSNet is pleased to offer our site users
one of the most
intuitive online financial resources in the industry. We look forward
to working with Leaseloan to provide instant finance solutions
for all visitors
of GSNet.com" Said Gregg Becker, General Manager
of GSNet. “GSNet is a company which emphasizes service
and value for
their customers” said Nick Pullen, the CEO of LeaseLoan. “LeaseLoan fits right into their business model by offering the best commercial
financing vehicle
on the web with a host of tools, the best possible rates and
online documentation.” About LeaseLoan LeaseLoan is an online provider of financing for
small to medium-sized businesses. LeaseLoan creates efficiencies in financing
for all business owners, vendors, and lenders: business owners get
free, fast credit decisions and online documentation with a wide
credit window;
vendors get point of sale closing capabilities with a wide
credit window
enabling greater sales, and lenders get to purchase closed
transactions that
make sense for their portfolio while at the same time
reducing processing
costs. In addition to assisting with capital, LeaseLoan
assists new businesses
with educational and product fulfillment services that
promote long-term
growth. For more information call 1-800-600-4396 or visit
www.LeaseLoan.com. About GSNet GSNet is an on-line trading company that facilitates
business-to-business heavy equipment trading. GSNet focuses on creating
value through
enabling clients and consumers to dialogue through an on-line
marketplace. GSNet's website forms a conduit to connect people buying
and selling on
an international level. Sellers can place their information
in the GSNet searchable database for Buyers to access. GSNet
provides such
diverse services as; member access, financial assistance
applications and
contacts, statistical analysis, advertisement programs and
multiple language
versions of our website.
In December
1998, GSNet (pronounced
G-S-Net) was purchased by Trader.com. For more information on GSNet call
1-800-214-6051
or visit their web site at www.GSNet.com. ### ########################### ######################## Take
the “e”
Train by Alan
Zeppenfeld If you don’t have a crystal ball to see the
emerging uses
of Internet technology
to create a competitive
advantage in the
leasing industry,
the Financial
Resource Conference
is your “must
attend” event.
Billed
as an upscale,
limited attendee
conference with
focused presentations
and great networking
opportunities,
the Lessors.com
staff delivered
an outstanding
combination of
online technology
information and
southern hospitality. The conference is orchestrated to get the most
networking benefit,
and is centered
around an array
of exhibitor workshops.
The presenters
are there to sell
and the attendees
are there to learn
about state-of-the-art
solutions and
services.
Companies
must apply for
a presenter slot,
and the applicants
are screened and
selected to provide
an agenda of topics
that are in high
demand.
After the
presentations,
the speakers are
available in the
networking suite
for further in-depth
discussion.
Complimenting
the exhibitor
workshops is a
funding source
exhibit with six
funders selected
to cover a broad
range of deal
types. The keynote speaker, Michael E. Cromar, VP e-business,
IBM Global Financing,
set the foundation
for the conference
by delivering
a riveting presentation
entitled “E-business,
Is That All There
Is?”.
Even though
his presentation
was based on activities
at IGF, the points
he made were applicable
to all leasing
companies, regardless
of size. His key
point was the
critical importance
of systems and
process integration
in order to execute
e-business, and
it was echoed
again and again
throughout the
conference. This facilitated one of the greatest values of the conference, the
realization that
smaller leasing
companies can
acquire the same
solutions and
functionality
utilized in-house
by the major lessors
through outsourcing
or using an application
service provider. Attending the exhibitor workshops made me feel
like I was back
in MBA school.
The strategic
scheduling and
strict adherence
to the allotted
times enabled
me to attend eight
of the twelve
presentations.
All of
them were focused
on getting their
key messages across
in a high quality
manner, and the
forty-five minute
sessions were
fast moving and
extremely informative. CambridgEcommerce had contacted me before the conference,
and I was anxious
to learn more
about their electronic
financial transaction
services; e-Invoices,
e-Checks and e-Posting. This company was part of the electronic check
pilot program
with NACHA, and
is currently the
only non-bank
to be firewall-to-firewall
with the Federal
Reserve. Transitioning
to electronic
checks will provide
the flexibility
of paper checks
and the convenience
of electronic
processing to
leasing customers.
Two key benefits
for the leasing
industry are the
ability to present
an electronic
check three times
for payment instead
of the two allowed
for paper checks,
and the fact that
the precedence
in the Fed clearing
process is now
wires-electronic
checks-paper checks. Two companies that can provide smaller leasing
companies with
solutions that
the larger ones
have are BAG and
SecureLease.
BAG is
a Business Information
Service Provider
that can transform
independent systems
into a corporate
information factory,
and provide companies
with an Internet
accessible data
warehouse that
can be implemented
within thirty
days. SecureLease is an ASP that provides lease and
loan origination
and processing
services.
Using the
Internet, they
provide leasing
companies the
opportunity to
offer branded
vendor programs,
branded broker
programs, and
even branded user
programs. During lunch, Jim Brady, SVP Market Development,
CapitalStream,
put the dot.bomb
phenomenon into
perspective. His key message was “don’t try to defeat existing market
channels, enrich
and strengthen
them”.
Brady very
effectively made
the point that
customercentric
thinking rules
and the customer
has the power. One fact that became crystal clear during the conference
was that the rapid
evolution and
change in the
leasing industry
was making it
increasingly difficult
to find the right
position and the
right person. Two of the best Executive Recruiters in the
leasing area,
Ben Sillins and
Fred St. Laurent,
teamed up to provide
valuable information
on recruiting
realities in today’s
leasing environment. At the evening networking reception, Jay Fudemberg, President and CEO of PureMarkets, one of the leading providers of eCommerce solutions for secured lending, shared his insight with me on the emerging opportunities in eFinancing. Fudemberg feels a responsibility to ensure that by using the PureMarkets platform " both the funding sources and borrowers realize significant value from us". His company focuses on removing friction from the financing process, and as friction goes down volume will go up. Fudemberg envisions the current 30% level of capital expenditures being leased rising to 50% over the next five years through the use of online solutions. He states that PureMarkets will be a leader in the achievement of this goal because they have the ability and the proven business model to make borrowing and lending easier and more effective. "We are now demonstrating that our platform does not lead to price and product commoditization, but rather to efficient one-to-one customization." Asked to comment on the new eLessors Networking Association, Fudemberg felt that it could achieve success by serving the vested interest of all parties involved in an eFinancing transaction; funding sources, borrowers, technology companies and vendors. I wish I could have seen all the presentations, and was able to put something about all the exhibitors and funding sources in this article. However, reality has set in and I realize that the best this mere mortal can do is give you a brief glimpse into an exceptional one of a kind e-Leasing event. It’s time to ride the e-Train, and the FRC has the tickets. Zep --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### ############################# ###################### Myrrdin Releases ePowerLease
Myrrdin is pleased to announce the release of its ASP – ePowerLease. This new service allows clients unrestricted access to PowerLease, Myrrdin’s proprietary loan and lease management system, over the internet. For more than twenty years, Myrrdin has provided the asset finance industry with loan / lease software with unsurpassed functionality, utilizing state-of-the-art technology. ePowerLease, the latest web enabled version of PowerLease, uses intelligent three tier client server architecture and ORACLE to provide clients with an inexpensive loan / lease management alternative. Myrrdin provides all required software and hardware at the application and database server levels, as well as all required systems services such as database management, daily back-ups, etc. Clients need only provide personal computers with access to the internet. All data being processed over the internet is totally secure – all data is encrypted, compressed and password protected. In addition, to ensure total data security each client has a completely segregated ORACLE database. Clients can manage their own portfolios directly over the internet, performing all activities as if Powerlease were local. Alternately, Myrrdin can actively manage the portfolio by performing selected functions, such as contract loading, invoicing, month-end closings, etc. No matter the size, or complexity of the portfolio, Myrrdin can tailor the ePowerLease solution to meet the needs of the most discerning client. ( courtesy ELAonline.com ) ### ########################### ###################### ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers 10/19 Regional Conference Marina del Rey, CA. 3:00 p.m. - 6:00p.m. Exhibitor Setup 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. Networking Reception 10/20 7:30a.m. - 9:30a.m. Continental Breakfast 9:15a.m. - 10:45a.m. Working with local banks - Is this for you? Registration form is available at: http://www.leasingnews.org/reg-form2.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leasing News has been getting e-mails regarding service and difficulties at the “new Orix,” but will not print them as the senders do not want to be named. But here is a story which may be affecting the “credit attitude” locally: Orix Falls on Concern Weak Economy May Hurt Leasing Business By Julie Tay, Bloomberg Orix Corp., Japan's largest nonbank financial company, fell as much as 11 percent because of investor concerns that Orix's leasing business will be hurt by the slowing Japanese economy, traders said. Orix shares last traded at 10,900, down 700 or 6.0 percent. More than 900,000 shares, about 4 times the three-month full day average of 219,798 shares, have traded. Gross domestic product figures released this morning showed Japan's economy shrank 0.8 percent in the second quarter. Additionally, some are concerned that Aozora Bank may not have set aside enough reserves to cover losses resulting from non- payment of loans to the bank, traders said. Orix held 15 percent of Aozora's shares as of a filing in March, and Yoshihiko Miyauchi, chairman of Orix, sits on Aozora's board. Aozora Bank, formerly the failed Nippon Credit Bank, is again undergoing a management reshuffle. The Nihon Keizai newspaper reported this morning that Aozora will appoint two of its own executives to its managing board. The bank adopted U.S.-style corporate governance when it began operations by separating the role of directors who keep an eye on overall operations from bank management, which carries out day-to-day operations, the paper said. "Aozora Bank's performance will not have any effect on Orix because it is not one of our affiliated companies," said Toshio Hatatani, spokesman of Orix. He declined to speculate on why Orix stock was falling. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday Odds and Ends--- Hats Off to Charlie Lester Kudos as always for an awesome job in reporting what goes on in our industry. And what an incredible ride it has been the last couple of years. Your current interview with Charlie Lester is very informative, and I could hardly wait each day |