Square Loans Originated $756M in Q1
May 5, 2022
Square Loans, the small business lending division of Block, is off to a roaring start. The company originated 90,000 loans for a total of $756M in Q1, according to the company’s latest quarterly earnings. One cause of that was a foray into the Canadian market as part of the company’s strategy to offer all its products in every market it operates in.
“I would say that we have always felt that fast access to funds, whether it’s a customer’s own funds or access to credit has been a key part of our platform and a key part of what our customers need in good times and in uncertain times,” said Block CFO Amrita Ahuja. “And we’ve built a lot of data, a lot of heuristics machine learning around the ability to enable customers for access to those funds in a responsible way. Obviously, we do that today on the Square platform with our Loans — Square Loans product, which we were able to very quickly pause during the early days of the pandemic, pivot to PPP, and then relaunch. And now with originations there back to pre-pandemic levels with continued strong results, encouraging results we’ve seen with respect to loss rates and repayment rates.”
Square Loans’ first quarter originations more than doubled YoY. The increase is consistent with results experienced by competitor Enova/OnDeck.
BROKER FAIR IS BACK! – NYC
May 2, 2022
Broker Fair is coming back to New York City on October 24th at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Anticipated to be the biggest Broker Fair ever, brokers from the small business lending, commercial financing, revenue-based financing, leasing, factoring, and MCA industries, will come together in the heart of New York.
“It’s amazing to have participated in the industry’s growth over the last four years,” said Broker Fair founder Sean Murray. “Our first event launched in Brooklyn in 2018 and now the demand has brought us into a massive newly-renovated venue in the middle of Times Square.”
Brokers, lenders, funders, factors, equipment financiers, fintechs, and the whole small business finance ecosystem can expect a full day of education, inspiration, and high quality networking opportunities.
Register here. For inquiries or questions, email events@debanked.com.
See last year’s sizzle reel:
Maxim Commercial Capital Reports Strong Performance During Q1 2022
April 13, 2022Hard-asset based lender funded better credits, real estate secured cash-out financings
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. (Apr. 13, 2022) – Maxim Commercial Capital (“Maxim”) reported strong results for the first quarter of 2022. The company kicked off the year with record low delinquencies, increased fundings to better credits, and strong demand for cash-out financings secured by real estate and equipment.
“As a closely-held company, we have the luxury of pivoting our business strategy real-time based on market conditions,” said Michael Kianmahd, Executive Vice President. “This benefitted us during the pandemic and continues to serve us and our borrowers during today’s volatile global economic conditions. We continue to invest in our operating infrastructure and are seeking to fill a few key positions.”
Maxim onboarded 40 new finance broker relationships during the first quarter. The lender’s team educated finance brokers on ways to expand their businesses through webinars and the byline article recently published by the AACFB, “Equipment Finance Brokers – Don’t Limit Opportunity! Ask about Real Estate Assets.”
Cash out financings funded during the first quarter include a $340,000 loan to a growing environmental consulting business in New Jersey secured by first liens on the business owners’ primary residence, a rental property purchased with the financing, and business FF&E. An established general contractor and real estate investor in Chicago experiencing customer collections problems borrowed $218,000 from Maxim secured by a first lien on an investment property and second lines on two residential income properties. He used the funds to refinance an expensive MCA loan, complete renovations of an investment property, improve rental properties, and bring a mortgage current.
With continuing record high class 8 truck prices, Maxim loosened credit standards for certain customer categories during the first quarter. Representative truck purchase transactions included a 2019 Peterbilt 579 purchased for $115,692 by a non-CDL owner of two trucks and two years’ time-in-business; a low mileage 2016 Kenworth T800 purchased for $107,283 by a start-up owner-operator homeowner with a 628 FICO and strong bank statements; and a $108,000 2018 Peterbilt 579 replacement truck for an owner-operator with a 766 FICO who appreciated Maxim’s early payoff option.
“Thanks to our diligent team, we exceeded our expectations during the pandemic and are experiencing strong profitability and record low losses,” said Behzad Kianmahd, Chairman and CEO. “We are well-prepared to withstand the continuing global economic crises but hoping for a return to peace in Europe and beyond.”
About Maxim Commercial Capital
Maxim Commercial Capital helps small and mid-sized business owners seize opportunity by providing financing in amounts from $10,000 to $3,000,000 secured by heavy equipment and real estate. Maxim facilitates equipment purchases, provides working capital, and refinances debt for companies across all industries located nationwide. As a leading provider of transportation equipment finance, Maxim funds up to 75% of the acquisition cost of class 8 and class 6 trucks, trailers and reefers for owner-operators and small businesses. Learn more at www.maximcc.com or by calling 877-776-2946.
Contact:
Michael Kianmahd
Maxim Commercial Capital
michael@maximcc.com
(213) 984-2727
North Mill Equipment Finance Originated $109M in Q1
April 4, 2022APRIL 4, 2022, NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“NMEF”), a leading independent commercial equipment lessor headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced today that first quarter loan and lease originations reached an all-time high of $109M, up 99% from the same period last year. Originations for the month of March represent a new pinnacle as funded volume surpassed $49 million, eclipsing the December 2021 originations high of $36 million.
“I could not be prouder of the energy, dedication, and collaboration that the team at NMEF displays each and every day.” said NMEF Chairman and CEO, David C. Lee. “We were able to double our funded volume in one year with only a 33% increase in headcount while achieving greater asset and industry diversity and maintaining yields without sacrificing credit quality as evidenced by a weighted average guarantor FICO of 716.”
According to Mark Bonanno, NMEF’s President and COO, “our exclusive commitment to the broker channel remains steadfast. By deepening our strategic relationships with key referral partners, we were able to substantially improve our efficiency and service levels, allowing us to double funded volume while processing nearly the same number of applications as the prior year. Discounting relationships now represent over a third of our funded volume.”
About North Mill Equipment Finance
North Mill Equipment Finance originates and services small to mid-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $1,000,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company accepts A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for many asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, printing, franchise, renovation, janitorial and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of WAFRA Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP). The company’s headquarters is in Norwalk, CT, with regional offices in Irvine, CA, Dover, NH, Voorhees NJ, and Murray, UT. For more information, visit www.nmef.com.
North Mill Refreshes Brand, Introduces New Company Logo
March 11, 2022
MARCH 11, 2022, NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“NMEF”), a leading mid-ticket equipment finance lender headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, has launched a new company logo in support of the ongoing evolution and record growth of the organization.
The brand refresh is timely as North Mill has undergone a major transformation since 2018 that has enhanced virtually every aspect of the business. A few years ago, North Mill was a small ticket lender that focused on challenged credits in the OTR space. While transportation remains a key asset category for the company, North Mill has experienced exponential growth and is now a half-billion dollar, mid-ticket finance lender that services customers in the A to C credit range and accommodates multiple asset categories ranging from construction to franchises.
One thing has remained constant: the company’s commitment to the referral agent community. North Mill’s distribution channel is limited to equipment finance brokers only. The exclusive relationship has proven pivotal to the company’s success and therefore foundational to the brand refresh. The existing logo includes a compass embedded in the company name. North Mill’s leadership team decided to keep the compass as a primary element of the new logo given the significance it represents. The word “compass” stems from Latin words meaning “to travel” or “step together.” “What better way to signify the synergistic relationship between our company and the referral agents with whom we rely on and partner with each day,” said North Mill’s CEO, David Lee, speaking of the symbolic nature of the compass.
The new logo is rendered with just the first letters of the company’s official name: North Mill Equipment Finance. Other brands have assumed the same naming convention given that acronyms and/or letters are often easier to remember and more memorable such as KPMG, BASF and HSBC.
About North Mill Equipment Finance
North Mill Equipment Finance originates and services small to mid-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $1,000,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company accepts A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for many asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, printing, franchise, renovation, janitorial and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of WAFRA Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP). The company’s headquarters is in Norwalk, CT, with regional offices in Irvine, CA, Dover, NH, Voorhees NJ, and Murray, UT. For more information, visit www.nmef.com.
North Mill Announces Pricing of Largest Securitization Ever at $371M
March 4, 2022
MARCH 4, 2022 – NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“NMEF”) announced today the closing of its fifth commercial equipment backed securitization (ABS), NMEF Funding 2022-A (“NMEF 2022-A”). The $371,070,000 transaction represents North Mill’s largest ABS issuance to date, surpassing its $236,588,000 ABS issuance in March 2021. The transaction was well-received by institutional investors despite being in the market during a period of heightened macroeconomic volatility, pricing on the day of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. North Mill had no investors drop their order post announcement of the invasion, and ultimately priced at a WAL-adjusted spread of 1.54%. The transaction featured twenty-three investors, eight of whom were first time investors in NMEF.
NMEF 2022-A featured five tranches of notes, achieving an 88.35% advance rate through the Class D note. The Transaction was rated by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. (“KBRA”), who assigned a lower base case rating agency loss assumption for NMEF 2022-A vs. the company’s preceding issuance (“NMEF 2021-A”), permitting North Mill to achieve higher proceeds through the capital stack (88.35% in NMEF 2022-A vs. 86.03% in NMEF 2021-A). The $371.1MM transaction was backed by $420MM in equipment loan and lease contracts, $72MM of which will be contributed via a 3-month prefunding period post-close.
“I’m extremely proud of the team’s execution on this transaction, especially during such a challenging macro-economic environment and geopolitical discord,” said North Mill’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Bonanno. “The base case loss assumption assigned to this transaction by the rating agency was 115bps lower than our 2021 ABS transaction which is a testament to the quality of North Mill’s underwriting and servicing model and a validation of our business strategy of targeting higher credit quality obligors, diversified equipment and industry types, and a refined list of third-party originators with whom we partner to offer financing solutions.”
Truist Securities, Inc. served as sole book runner for the transaction.
About North Mill Equipment Finance
North Mill Equipment Finance originates and services small to mid-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $1,000,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company accepts A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for many asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, printing, franchise, renovation, janitorial and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of WAFRA Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP). The company’s headquarters is in Norwalk, CT, with regional offices in Irvine, CA, Dover, NH, Voorhees NJ, and Murray, UT. For more information, visit www.nmef.com.
Shopify Capital Originated $324M in Funding in Q4
February 16, 2022
Shopify Capital originated $324M in Q4 2021, bringing the full-year total to $1.39B. That figure represents a massive increase over the company’s previous originations record of $794M in 2020.
During the quarterly earnings call, Shopify CFO Amy Shapero listed Shopify Capital among the divisions that drove revenue growth for the company in 2021.
“As merchants build momentum, inventory and marketing needs to grow alongside it,” said Shopify CEO Harley Finkelstein. “And this is where Shopify Capital comes in, offering merchants the funding they need to expand their business.”
Total originations came in just shy of the numbers that rival OnDeck reported a week earlier. OnDeck originated $1.76B in funding to small businesses in 2021.
North Mill Reports 2021 as Best Year in Company’s History
January 10, 2022JANUARY 6, 2022, NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“NMEF”), a Monitor 100 commercial equipment lender headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced today that 2021 was the best year in the company’s six decades-long history. Organic originations reached an all-time high and delinquencies hit an all-time low.
“Although 2021 posed many challenges, it turned out to be an extraordinarily successful year as our key performance indicators skyrocketed across the board,” said David C. Lee, Chairman and CEO, North Mill. “In the last three years, North Mill has burgeoned into a premium lender that has established a proven track record of innovation, execution, and operational excellence. Most notably, the partnerships that we’ve forged with our referral partners has allowed us to attain a level of success never before realized at this company.”
According to Pier Snider, EVP, CFO, “NMEF’s annual volume for 2021 increased 69% over prior year to $309M. The number of submitted applications rose to more than 19k, representing a 13% increase over 2020 submissions. Demonstrating an improvement in both efficiency and quality, the company funded 3.6K of those deals, a 51% increase year-over-year. Weighted average FICO shot up 5 points to 718, the highest score in the company’s history, while average deal size rose by more than $9k per transaction to hit an all-time high of $87K.” The company’s average yield remained north of 14% even with the higher average credit quality borrowers.
While annual indicators exceeded expectations, quarterly and monthly figures were also record-breaking. The fourth quarter of 2021 was exceptionally noteworthy as it, too, exemplifies the progression in the organization’s efficiency. NMEF experienced a 95% increase in volume in the 4Q 2021 vs the same period in 2020 while processing the same number of applications during the two periods. Moreover, December saw yet another new record funding volume level of $36.3M, a year-over-year increase of 83% while weighted average FICO increased to 730.
North Mill opened three new regional offices in 2021. An office in Irvine, CA was opened to better service larger referral partners for the company’s discounting programs while an office in Vorhees, NJ was established to leverage NMEF’s expanding workforce on the east coast near the Philadelphia metropolitan area. NMEF’s acquisition of Aztec Financial in September added an office in Murray, UT.
About North Mill Equipment Finance
North Mill Equipment Finance, a Monitor 100 company, originates and services small to mid-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $1,000,000 in value. A broker-centric private lender, the company handles A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for a wide variety of asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, medical, manufacturing, printing, franchise, renovation, janitorial and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of WAFRA Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP). The company’s headquarters is in Norwalk, CT, with regional offices in Irvine, CA, Dover, NH, Voorhees NJ, and Murray, UT. For more information, visit www.nmef.com.
