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Credit Analyst: Seeking an energetic and organized Credit Analyst. At least one to two years of experience as a Credit Analyst in financial services (banking, insurance, leasing, or mortgage) is required. Funding Manager: Seeking a very organized, detail oriented Funding Manager. Minimum two years experience in brokering and discounting commercial equipment transactions is required. Operations Manager: Seeking an experienced Operations Manager with knowledge of all sides of operations. Must have a minimum of five years related experience. Send
email or fax to Ryan Johnson, Corporate Recruiter. |
Thursday,
August 5, 2004
Headlines---
Classified
Ads---Marketing / Ops / Info System
Why
Qwest Pulled the Plug on NorVergence
Cartoon--Discovers
Cash Flow Problem
GE
Kicks Off ELFF Campaign $37,500
a Year for 3 Years
Oak
Brook Bank New Leasing Unit
Microfinancial
Continues To Reduce Debt Obligation
Willis
Lease Renews Revolving Credit Facility
SalesChain
Releases mySalesChain.com v2.0
DealerTrack
Acquires LeaseLink Tools
######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press
release”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Your
One stop solution for training and reference material for the
Leasing Professional
www.theleasinglibrary.com |
Classified
Ads---Marketing / Operations / Information System
Information System:
Portland, OR.
Automatte, expand
resources! Front-end to back-office hands-on product/project manager.
Quickly define requirements/ work w developers to create most resourceful,
user- friendly processes.
Email: robin_walker@comcast.net
or telephone 503.760.6115.
Marketing:
Orange County, CA.Seeking management opportunity to create/improve outbound
call center new business marketing in leasing industry. Very experienced
in all aspects of telemarketing, management, prospecting and closing.
E-mail: princedm@pacbell.net
Operations:
New York, NY.
10+ years in equipment
leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation,
policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting.
Strong work ethic.
Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com
Operations:
Experienced Credit, Collections,
lease and Finance operations. Manager w/ expertise in improving bottom line performance, excellent trainer, manager, motivator. Get result/keep the customer coming back.
Email: rgmorrill@comcast.net
Operations:
Wayne, NJ
20+ heavily experienced collection/recovery VP looking to improve someone's bottom line. Proven, verifiable track record. Knowledge of all types of portfolio. Will relocate
Email: cmate@nac.net
Operations:
West Palm Beach, FL.
Sales, credit, presentation
and placement. Seasoned lease professional, currently independent, looking
for a manufacturer,
distributor or captive requiring expertise in sales assistance in product financing.
Email: southernleasing@bellsouth.net
full listing of all ads at:
http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get
Your “Blog” Here
Leasing News introduced
photographs, links to resumes, personal
web sites, and “blogs”
for the free “job wanted” classified ads.
Several readers have
asked, “What is a blog?” More
important
than its definition,
you can build one for free, and it is not
difficult to do.
Matt Gebhardt explains
its best in an article he wrote for “The Inside
Internet.” www.elementkjournals.com
“The term blog is
really the favored shortened version of the term weblog, which, as you
might really assume, is basically
a personal log posted on the web. These no-frills Web pagesare self-published
personal musings, observations, essays, notes, and favorite links of
the author, also known as the blogger. Because
of the lack of influence from advertisers, potential advertisers,
editors, and publishers (at least back in the infant stage of blog evolution),
these pages often convey much more of the author's personality than
people are used to seeing in the public sector.
“Blogs differ from
simple personal Web pages in several ways. First, the tools used to
create blogs, such as Blogger (www.blogger.com),
enable the author to create a page and update it with incredible ease
and rapidity, since blogs traditionally lack more than very basic design
elements. Secondly, blogs are generally updated on a near daily basis.
“Professional bloggers
are often people with an inside track to breaking news and trends, and
some experts are even predicting that the collective blogs on the Internet
(also known by some as the blogosphere) may transform and democratize
the dissemination of news. The main idea behind this line of thought
is that the blogosphere can provide the common consumer with breaking
news and insights, unedited and free from political and economic pressures.
“Blog, bloggers, and the blogosphere all sound innocent. But blogs, such as the Drudge Report
(www. drudgereport.com) and Ethel the Blog
(http: //stommel.tamu.edu/-.baum/ethel/blogger.html),
are continually gaining
in both popularity and respect-ability. Their uses are just beginning
to be tapped-experts in the fields of marketing, journal-ism, and academics
are all showing interest.
“To take a look at some interesting blogs, be sure to check out the Blogdex at
http://blogdex.med
.mit.edu, an online index of blogs created by the MIT Media Library.
If you're interested in creating your own blog, there's even a free
hosting service for Blogger-powered Web logs called Blog*Spot, located
online at www.blogspot.com. And
of course, you can follow the growth of the blog phenomenon in future
articles of Inside the Internet.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why
Qwest Pulled the Plug on NorVergence
by
Christopher Menkin
Qwest Communication,
one of the major suppliers to NorVergence,
perhaps the number
one service provider, was the main factor to three companies first trying
to stall off liquidation with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
It did not work. Once
the Qwest $15 million was
realized, it quickly
brought other telephone companies to the
hearing to realize
that over $30 million was owed to them alone.
One of the reasons
the plug was pulled is the financial trouble of Qwest itself, who yesterday
posted a second quarter net loss of$776 million, compared to a loss
of $64 million for the same quarter in 2003. Revenues were also down
from $3.6 billion to $3.4 billion in the same time period. This does
not include figures for companies such as NorVergence, who will appear
in the next quarter.
The results included
special items totaling $487 million, or 27 cents per share, much of
that from the placement of $300 million in a reserve for ongoing litigation
in shareholder lawsuits and securities investigations. Qwest officials
said that puts the total in the reserve at $500 million.
There also was a
$127 million charge associated with some 1,600 job cuts, primarily in
the information technology division. Qwest, which operates in 14 West
and Midwestern states including Minnesota, has said they expect an additional
1,800 layoffs by the end of the year.
Red ink will continue.
While the revenue
was down, profits, too, Qwest reported a 6 percent increase in revenue
for long distance service and a 3 percent increase in data and Internet
revenue. Access line losses declined 1.3 percent from the first quarter
but were unchanged in a year-over-year comparison.
Qwest chief financial
officer Oren Shaffer said the growth in key areas was offset by competitive
pricing pressure, the access line losses,
and changes in the
industry. He did not mention “bad accounts.”
"I would like
to characterize our growth as slightly below our expectations primarily
due to unexpected competitive price pressure especially in our enterprise
market," he said. He did
not mention
NorVergence.
In the second quarter,
Qwest said it added 109,000 DSL subscribers to put its total at 853,000
and said it hopes to have 1 million DSL subscribers by the end of the
year. Qwest said it added 733,000 in-region long-distance lines in the
second quarter, giving it 4.1 million total lines.
It is obvious that
Qwest could not carry NorVergence customers,
and its debt owed
by the company itself. Whether it will survive
in this changing
wireless internet world is yet to be seen.
______________________________________________________
*** announcement
***************************************
GE
Kicks Off ELFF Campaign $37,500
a Year for 3 Years
General Electric
Company’s Commercial Finance business announced its continued support
of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation by pledging $37,500
per year for the next three years.
GE’s total pledge of $112,500 is the single largest corporate
pledge the Foundation has received to –date during its 2004 year-long
campaign.
In announcing GE’s
2004 pledge, Rick Wolfert, President & CEO, GE Healthcare Financial
Services and a member of the Foundation’s National Development Committee
stated, “GE has a longtime commitment to excellence in the equipment
leasing industry. We believe that our corporate support and participation
in the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation research focused foundation
is a wise and prudent investment in the continuing and future health
and stability of our industry. GE
is pleased to have the opportunity to invest in our industry’s future
through the Foundation.”
In accepting GE’s
2004 support pledge, James Renner, Chairman, Equipment Leasing &
Finance Foundation and Chairman of the National Development Committee
said, “We are honored and pleased with GE’s generous and outstanding
support. Their continuing demonstration of corporate
citizenship is an example and encouragement to all of us in the industry
— and we are most grateful to GE for their support.”
Now is the time for
every company in our industry to join together and share in helping
to assure the continued and future health, success and stability of
our industry through our Foundation. Please join other industry leaders
- make your pledge or contribution today and help assure a better tomorrow
for all of us!
The success of this
year's campaign will enable your Foundation to continue to expand focused
research advances in our industry among which are:
1.Operation excellence
and discipline studies
2.Diversity in the
workplace initiatives
3.Research on the
effects lower tax rates would have on the industry
4.Forecasting research
and analysis
5.Off shore issues
and trends
6.Publishing Journal
of Equipment Lease Financing
7.Publishing Annual
State of the Industry Report
8.Publishing Industry
Future Council Report
9.Capital Adequacy
studies
The Foundation will
continue funding research grants for academics and industry experts,
in addition to also funding authorship honorariums and developing a
comprehensive statistical database for research. The Board of Trustees
launches the Foundation's 2004 Annual Campaign with the announcement
of the formation of the National Resource Development Committee, Chaired
by James Renner, President, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. This
committee will coordinate all the Foundation's development initiatives
- including the all-important Annual Campaign - the primary source for
funding the Foundation's vital industry programs and projects.
Joining Chairman Renner on the Committee are 21 leading industry 21 executives. Full committee list is available at, http://www.leasefoundation.org/about/committees/Natldev.htm
The Development Committee
is already hard at work and is pleased to announce the 2004 Annual Campaign
Goal is $300,000 - an increase of $100,000 over last year's achieved
goal! The success of this year’s campaign will enable your Foundation
to continue to expand its focus on industry research.
Initial Donors have already stepped forward to lead the way. For a complete list of companies and individuals who have already donated to the 2004 campaign visit,
http://www.leasefoundation.org/donors/donors.htm
To
donate: http://www.leasefoundation.org/donors/
About The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation
The Equipment Leasing
and Finance Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides
vision for the equipment leasing and finance industry through future-focused
information and research. Primarily funded through donations, the Foundation
is the only organization dedicated to future-oriented, in-depth, independent
research for the leasing industry. Foundation products include the Industry
Future Council Report, the State of the Industry Report, and the Journal
of Equipment Lease Financing and numerous research reports. Established
in 1989, Founders include leasing industry member Paul S. Gass, the
Equipment Leasing Association, and others. Visit the Foundation online
at http://www.LeaseFoundation.org
About GE Healthcare
Financial Services
GE Healthcare Financial
Services, a unit of GE Commercial Finance, is a provider of capital,
financial solutions, and related services for the global healthcare
market. With over $13 billion of capital committed to the healthcare
industry, GE Healthcare Financial Services offers a full range of capabilities
from equipment financing and real estate financing to working capital
lending, vendor programs, and practice acquisition financing. With its
knowledge of all aspects of healthcare from hospitals and long-term
care facilities to physicians’ practices and life sciences, GE Healthcare
Financial Services works with customers to create tailored financial
solutions that help them improve their productivity and profitability.
For more information, visit www.GEHealthcareFinance.com.
Equipment Leasing
& Finance Foundation – Your Eye On the Future!
**** Announcement
**************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
The only annually-updated international reference book for the asset financing and leasing industry available. The new 25th edition includes the latest market trends, over 100 authoritative articles and reports on the leasing software and IT market, an exclusive ranking of the top 50 leasing markets by size worldwide with feature profiles from Africa to Venezuela PLUS a directory of over 4,400 contacts.
Alternatively
visit |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letters---We
Get eMail
Thanks
for running the story Kit. I have received many emails commenting on
it. Some of the "old pros" are intrigued by the simplicity
and creativity of what we are doing. Just goes to show that many in
our industry work with blinders on.
I
would like to add that we have also received calls from people wanting
to know which territories are still available. I have noticed recently
that people who want to get into the leasing business have somehow found
Leasing News.
Ken Glasgow
CCLG Inc.
d/b/a Corporate Capital Leasing Group
24 Offices Nationwide
800-549-9570
www.cclg.com
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Corp_cap_grows.htm
---
Thank you very much
for the update on PinnLeasing.
RE: Tommy Larsen, It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
This man gave the entire leasing industry a black eye.
Having worked with him at two previous leasing companies when he owned
"CopyFax of San Diego"
I am very grateful that justice was served.
( name with held
)
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Pinn_fund_lease.htm
---
This morning I completely
read for the first time, your new format. Thank you very much for the
vast improvement!
Regards.
Stan
Stanley A. Evans,
Jr.
Executive Solutions
for Leasing and Finance, Inc.
--
In the article about
Nationwide, I'm refreshed to read the following quote from Evan Lang
of Nationwide Funding.
"We are in the business
of funding leases, not in the business of
retaining commitment fees/deposits..."
Our industry and many individuals
in it would better served if everyone focused on doing the right thing
rather than being right.
Steve Haycock
LGI Financial Solutions
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Nationwide_high_road.htm
---
You were of some
help (with the “job wanted” ad, but I did accept a sales position with a company not associated with the lease
financing world. It's a new experience
for me and I really am enjoying my job. If it doesn't work out
I know I can always go back into the lease financing business.
Regards,
Sue Chupa
(We keep track of
people who find or leave the free “job wanted”
list. Many leave the industry, such as Ms. Chupa,
although there
appears a trend in
the other direction, particularly since many
lessors are now expanding
and hiring. editor )
--
Regarding NorVergence...Peter
Salzano was not the real CEO, it was his brother tom Salzano!!!!!!!!
I know, I worked with him there and it was just Pete’s name on the paperwork.....
Please spread the word, TOM SALZANO WAS THE CEO & OWNER OF NORVERGENCE
justin cantor
Brooklyn, NY
--
Collateral, collateral,
collateral. If leasing companies had actually looked at the collateral
perhaps this would not have gone as far as it did.
Deborah J. Monosson
President
Boston Financial & Equity Corporation
1260 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
617-267-2900
http://www.bfec.com
From the Yahoo—Listserve:
.....all the employees
were not crooks. All of the employees I personally knew were honest
hard-working people (like you I presume) who needed to feed their families
and unaware of the scam. After all, it was a job; we had no knowledge
of the sham. Furthermore, we the employees are still owed at least three
weeks wages some even five weeks. I also had my medical insurance deducted
from my last paycheck only to realize that my daughter's emergency room
claim was rejected due to the premium NOT being paid by the NorV unprincipled
management...I just received the bill yesterday. And I have heard of
much worse cases such as one employee responsible for $80k to $90k due
to premiums not being paid. Believe me, we the honest hard-working employees,
also, together with you and all the good customers, anticipate seeing
those responsible in hand-cuffs.
( name with held )
I understand that all of the Norvergence employees
were hurt right along with the customers, but I have
a
hard time believing that if Norvergence was still
in
existence that you'd be speaking to me in such civil
tones. I think
it would be more likely you'd be lying
to me and hiding behind Norvergence policies. If
anyone from customer service reading this recognizes
my name I think you know what I'm talking about.
I
have a laundry list of names catalogued along with
false promises made over the last year of trying to
deal with 4 Norvergence contracts spread across 3
companies. I
was lied to by salespeople, customer
service reps, customer service managers, escalations,
the escalations manager, the regional VP, and the
VP
of customer service (actually she didn't lie to me,
she just refused to acknowledge that I existed).
My
Norvergence problem is severely compounded by the
individual failures that I have been met with over
the
last year. These
failures are the results of
Norvergence employees who took advantage of a system
that allowed them to shirk responsibility whenever
possible.
As these employees make their way into other
telecommunications companies, I am confident that
they
will continue their legacy of incompetence, failure
and lies. Furthermore,
I'm sure that their efforts
will be encouraged and rewarded by dishonest telecom
giants like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and MCI, just
to
name a few. The same companies that made the
Norvergence promises so attractive to companies like
ours. The
same companies that have slowly been
destroying this country, one phone line at a time
while employing thousands and thousands of so-called
hard working individuals just trying to feed their
families.
You can bluster and yell and overreact all you want,
but the fact remains that what each individual did
at
Norvergence contributed to the situatioun that has
hurt 11,000 small to mid-size businesses. In many
cases, these are small, family owned businesses, now
faced with thousands in losses from downtime, the
leases, legal fees, the overall stress of dealing
with
this situation, and the prospect of crawling back
to
the companies we ran from at your urging. So no, we
are not the same, we have not been equally burdened.
As Norvergence employees you fed the flames of your
evil machine with the souls of companies like mine,
and you did it happily until the walls came down
around you. Now
you conspire with each other to fool
your next employer and join the ranks of another
deception based product, again in the attempts to
feed
your family or some other nonsensical justification
for the careers you've chosen.
I have no pity, no understanding and no tolerance
for
anyone that ever counted themselves among the
employees at Norvergence.
### Press Release
##############################
|
|
Oak Brook Bank Announces an Additional Commercial Real Estate Department
and a Leasing Unit in Its Commercial Lending Department
OAK BROOK, Ill.--- The Hiring of 5 Seasoned Lenders; the
Hiring of a New Chief Legal Officer; and 10 Officer Promotions
First Oak Brook Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOBB) announced the formation
of a new commercial real estate area and a leasing unit, the addition
of five experienced lending officers, and the promotion of ten bank
officers.
Also, First Oak Brook Bancshares announced the appointment of its
new Chief Legal Officer, and the $2.1 billion Oak Brook Bank, the Company's
primary operating subsidiary, announced the permanent appointment of
its General Counsel.
Oak Brook Bank forms the Corporate and National Real Estate Department
and appoints two seasoned real estate experts to be its nucleus:
The Corporate & National Real Estate Department ("CANRED")
was established in the second quarter of 2004 to complement and extend
the reach of Oak Brook Bank's current middle-market real estate lending
activities housed in its Commercial Real Estate Loan Department. CANRED
is primarily focused on seeking out and underwriting larger-sized real
estate loans. CANRED will also be the focal point for the Bank's branch
expansion efforts ; overseeing the activities of the Bank's two real
estate development subsidiaries, Oak Real Estate Development Corp. and
West Erie LLC; and promoting real estate-related Community Reinvestment
Act (CRA) initiatives.
To head the new function, the Bank has appointed Lawrence D. Silberman
as its Executive Vice President and Leonard Carnevale as Vice President.
Their backgrounds are described below.
In announcing the formation of CANRED, Richard M. Rieser, Jr.,
Company President and Bank CEO, said,
"In terms of loan generation, we expect to attract new borrowers
to the Bank through the extensive network of local, national, institutional
and correspondent contacts these seasoned lenders bring with them. While
performing an initial pass-through of Larry and Len's contacts cross-matched
against our existing Commercial Real Estate Department's client and
prospect lists, we confirmed very little overlap exists. Therefore,
we are confident we can achieve a lift in production from a broader
base of real estate loan proposals.
Also, a prudent and measured complementary focus on larger loan
size should produce operating efficiencies. Our intent is not to build
a portfolio of box-car sized loans, but to utilize this platform to
access more loan opportunities and then mitigate risk, while enhancing
returns, with an outward-bound syndication/participation capability."
Lawrence D. Silberman, 48, joins Oak Brook Bank as Executive Vice
President and Head of Corporate and National Real Estate. He has also
been named CEO of Oak Real Estate Development Corporation, the Bank's
wholly-owned residential real estate development and investment subsidiary.
Mr. Silberman began his banking career at the Northern Trust Company
in 1982. Most recently, Mr. Silberman served as Senior Vice President
in the Income Property Group at Key Bank Real Estate Capital in Chicago.
Mr. Silberman, a lifelong resident of Highland Park, Illinois, where
he currently serves as a City Councilman, holds a BA from the University
of Chicago and received his MBA from Northwestern University's JL Kellogg
Graduate School of Management.
Leonard Carnevale, 50, joins Oak Brook Bank as Vice President in
its new Corporate and National Real Estate Department. He works with
commercial real estate developers and also focuses on the Bank's branch
expansion program. Mr. Carnevale has 27 years of real estate experience,
most recently with Lend Lease Real Estate Investments. Previously, he
served in the real estate investment departments of two large insurance
companies, Pacific Life and Prudential Insurance. He began his career
at Real Estate Research Corporation in Chicago. Mr. Carnevale, a resident
of Indian Head Park, earned his Bachelors degree from the University
of Notre Dame and his Masters in Urban Studies and Law degrees from
Loyola University.
Oak Brook Bank forms new leasing unit in its Commercial Loan Department:
During the 2nd Quarter, Oak Brook Bank added a very experienced
lender, John Castellano, with a strong background in leasing to its
Commercial Loan Department. Mr. Castellano's experience is summarized
below. Mr. Castellano is expecting to utilize his extensive referral
network among large financial institutions to purchase for the Bank
discounted leases, principally the "debt strip" or loan piece.
Underlying credits will typically be near-investment or investment grade,
with primary reliance on the credit-worthiness of the leasees, rather
than the collateral.
John A. Castellano, 45, joins Oak Brook Bank as Vice President
of the Leasing Unit--a new part of Oak Brook Bank's Commercial and Industrial
Lending Department. Mr. Castellano brings 22 years of banking and leasing
experience with him. Prior to joining Oak Brook Bank, Mr. Castellano
was Vice President of Citicapital Bankers Leasing and previously worked
for National City Bank Leasing, Bank of America, and Societe Generale.
John lives in Palatine and received his B.A. in Finance from Northern
Illinois University in 1981.
Oak Brook Bank hires two additional experienced lenders for its
Commercial Loan Department, Brian S. Boilek and Philip L. Olivero:
Brian S. Boilek, 36, joins Oak Brook Bank as Vice President and
Senior Commercial Lender in the Bank's Commercial and Industrial Lending
Department. Mr. Boilek is focusing his loan generation efforts on the
South Suburban markets of Chicago. He has 18 years banking experience,
beginning his career at First National Bank of Illinois in Lansing.
Most recently, Mr. Boilek was at Fifth Third Bank and National City
Bank of Indiana. Mr. Boilek is a resident of Munster, Indiana and received
both his Bachelor's and MBA from Indiana University.
Philip L. Olivero, 43, joins Oak Brook Bank as Vice President in
its Commercial and Industrial Lending Department. Mr. Olivero will focus
his business development activities on the Far Western suburbs of Chicago.
Upon the opening of Oak Brook's recently-announced branch in Yorkville,
Illinois, scheduled for mid-2005, Mr. Olivero will be based in that
office. Most recently, Mr. Olivero was a Vice President at First National
Bank of Ottawa and Unionbancorp in Ottawa. From 1986 until 1997, Mr.
Olivero was a bank examiner with the Office of Banks and Real Estate
of the State of Illinois. Mr. Olivero currently resides in Peru, Illinois.
He received his B.S. in Finance in 1983 from Illinois Wesleyan University
in Bloomington.
First Oak Brook Bancshares, Inc. and Oak Brook Bank announce appointment
of key legal officers, Mitchell L. Hollins and Lorenzo Pate:
Mitchell L. Hollins, 57, joins First Oak Brook Bancshares, Inc.
as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and Oak Brook Bank as its
Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Prior to joining the Company, Mr.
Hollins practiced law in Chicago for 31 years - most recently as a senior
partner in the securities and corporate practice groups at Piper, Rudnick
and previously at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Additionally, Mr.
Hollins has been a frequent lecturer at national seminars and at the
graduate schools of business at Northwestern University and the University
of Chicago, focusing on the legal aspects of entrepreneurship. A resident
of Glencoe, Mr. Hollins earned his JD at New York University, where
he was Note and Comment Editor of The Journal of International Law &
Politics.
Lorenzo Pate, 34, was promoted to General Counsel of the Bank.
Previously, he served as Acting General Counsel of the Bank. Mr. Pate
has been a practicing attorney for eight years. He has been with Oak
Brook Bank's Law Department for the past 5 years and also serves as
its Ethics Officer, Assistant Secretary, and President of Oak Real Estate
Development Corporation. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Pate was an
associate at the law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas in Chicago.
Mr. Pate is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law
and earned his B.S. in Finance also from the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. Mr. Pate resides on the Near West side of Chicago
where he has been active in community redevelopment efforts.
Oak Brook Bank announces nine additional promotions:
Scott A. Bachmann, 24, promoted to Vice President in the Commercial
and Industrial Lending Department. Mr. Bachmann began his banking career
at Oak Brook Bank in 2001 as a trainee in the Management Training Program.
He earned his undergraduate degree in Management and International Business
from Indiana University at Bloomington and currently resides in Chicago,
Illinois.
Philip D. Bueche III, 36, promoted to Vice President in Oak Brook
Bank's Investment Sales Center, specializing in fixed income sales.
Previously, Mr. Bueche worked for over 10 years in Bond Operations at
American National Bank in Chicago. He is a 1990 graduate of Loyola University
with a BBA degree and holds Series 52 and 63 securities licenses.
Christopher G. Hutter, 24, promoted to Vice President in Commercial
Real Estate Lending. Mr. Hutter began his career at Oak Brook Bank in
2001 as a trainee in the Management Training Program, following his
graduation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where
he earned his B.S. in Finance. Currently, Mr. Hutter is pursuing his
M.B.A. in Finance at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, and lives
in Lockport, Illinois.
J.W. Cole Parsons, 42, promoted to Vice President in the Commercial
Banking Department. Based in the Bank's Countryside office, Mr. Parsons
joined Oak Brook Bank in 2003. Previously, he was an Assistant Vice
President at Hinsbrook Bank and Trust in its Commercial Banking Department
and at Bank One in the Treasury Management Group of its Commercial Banking
Division. Mr. Parsons holds a B.S. in Business from Arizona State University
and resides in Plainfield, Illinois.
Wendy S. Dorn, 51, promoted to Assistant Vice President and Retail
Lockbox Manager in the Treasury Management Department. Ms. Dorn has
been with Oak Brook Bank since 1989. She is a resident of Villa Park.
Kathryn Hamilton, 25, promoted to Assistant Vice President in the
Human Resources Department. Ms. Hamilton began her career with Oak Brook
Bank in 2001 as a trainee in the Management Training Program. Ms. Hamilton
is a graduate of Georgetown University with a B.S. in International
Business and Spanish. She is a resident of Western Springs.
Justin L. Ragner, 24, promoted to Assistant Vice President in the
Commercial Banking Department. Mr. Ragner began his career at Oak Brook
Bank in 2001 as a trainee in the Management Training Program. He earned
a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington University in St.
Louis and lives in Chicago.
Thomas A. Sternberg, 24, promoted to Assistant Vice President in
the Investment Management and Trust Department where he specializes
in equity research. Mr. Sternberg joined Oak Brook Bank as a trainee
in the Management Training Program in 2002. Mr. Sternberg is a graduate
of Duke University with a B.S. in Economics, and he is currently pursuing
his Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He lives in Chicago.
Jennifer L. Szatkowski, 24, promoted to Assistant Vice President
and Branch Manager of the Graue Mill office of Oak Brook Bank. Ms. Szatkowski
began her career with Oak Brook Bank in 1998 in Retail Banking and is
a resident of LaGrange Park.
Oak Brook Bank currently operates 17 offices in Addison, Aurora,
Bensenville, Bolingbrook, Broadview, Burr Ridge, Countryside, Glen Ellyn,
Graue Mill (Oak Brook), LaGrange, Lisle, Oak Brook, Naperville, St.
Charles, Warrenville, Glenview and Chicago. Fifteen of these offices
are in the western suburbs of Chicago, one on the North Shore and one
in downtown Chicago. Oak Brook Bank has announced 3 more branches to
open in 2005 - in Darien, Yorkville and Wheaton, Illinois.
First Oak Brook Bancshares, Inc. is the 10th largest independent,
publicly-held bank holding company headquartered in Illinois. The $2.1
billion Oak Brook Bank is the 12th largest bank in Illinois. First Oak
Brook Bancshares, Inc. is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the
symbol FOBB.
CONTACT:First Oak
Brook Bancshares, Inc. Richard M. Rieser, Jr. 630-571-1050 ext. 213 rrieser@obb.com
### Press Release
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MICROFINANCIAL
Continues To Reduce Debt Obligation
WOBURN, Mass--MicroFinancial
Incorporated (NYSE-MFI) announced today that the company continues to
reduce its outstanding debt obligations in excess of the amounts required
by the Company's long-term bank agreement.
As of August 2, 2004,
the senior credit facility has been reduced to $16.6 million, as compared
to an expected $19.5 million for the same period, as stated in the bank
agreement. In addition, all of the company's securitized debt obligations
have been paid in full.
Richard Latour, President
and Chief Executive Officer stated, "I am pleased that we continue
to surpass our required repayments and other financial expectations
of our bank agreement. Year to date through August 2, 2004, we have
reduced our total interest bearing debt by approximately $42.0 million."
The Company continues
to seek various financing, restructuring and strategic alternatives
that will enable it to strengthen its position in the leasing market.
About Microfinancial
MicroFinancial Inc.
(NYSE: MFI), headquartered in Woburn, MA, is a financial intermediary
specializing in leasing and financing for products in the $500 to $10,000
range. The company has been in operation since 1986.
CONTACT: MicroFinancial Incorporated
Richard F. Latour, 781-994-4800
President and CEO
SOURCE: MicroFinancial
Incorporated
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Willis
Lease Renews Revolving Credit Facility
SAUSALITO, Calif.----Willis
Lease Finance Corporation (Nasdaq:WLFC) announced today that it has
renewed one of its primary revolving credit facilities with a syndicate
of banks led by Fortis Bank (Nederland) N.V. as structuring and security
agent and National City Bank as administrative agent. California Bank
& Trust, City National Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, HSH Nordbank, and
State Bank of India are also participants in the credit.
The credit facility makes immediately available to Willis Lease
up to $126.0 million on a revolving basis through May 31, 2006, with
final maturity on May 31, 2007. This and other credit facilities support
the company and its subsidiaries in financing the $498.1 million equipment
lease portfolio as of June 30, 2004.
"We are very pleased we have been able to renew this facility,"
said Charles F. Willis, President and CEO. "Access to capital is
fundamental to our success, and we see the continued support of both
domestic and international banks as a vote of confidence for our business
model."
About Willis Lease
Willis Lease Finance Corporation leases spare commercial aircraft
engines, rotable parts and aircraft to commercial airlines, aircraft
engine manufacturers and overhaul/repair facilities worldwide. These
leasing activities are integrated with the purchase and resale of used
and refurbished commercial aircraft engines.
CONTACT:Willis Lease
Finance Corporation Monica J. Burke, 415-331-5281
### Press Release
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|
Your
One stop solution for training and reference material for the
Leasing Professional
www.theleasinglibrary.com |
SalesChain
Announces the Release of mySalesChain.com v2.0
Connecticut - - SalesChain
LLC, the technology leader in on demand sales force automation and customer
base management ("SFA") solutions for office equipment dealers,
today announced the immediate availability and deployment of mySalesChain.com
version 2.0, the industry's most content rich and customizable SFA solution
for office equipment dealers. The
latest release of the mySalesChain.com service includes advanced word
processing and shared scheduling with monthly, weekly and daily views.
The mySalesChain.com
solution provides world-class visibility and control over prospect and
customer data while delivering real-time functionality and control for
sales representatives and owners a-like including:
· Shared Contact Management
· Prospect and Opportunity Management
· Pipeline Reporting
· Workflow Automation
· Integrated Document Imaging
· Word Processing
· Total Customer View
(A complete book of account including Assets, Contracts,
Service History,
Usage History and Lease Contracts)
· Shared Calendar and Scheduling
· Marketing Campaign
· Lease Portfolio Management
· OMD Integration
· Telemarketing
· Automated Sales Representative Assignment
"mySalesChain.com
v2.0 represents a quantum leap forward for SFA, benefiting office equipment
dealers beyond imagination" said Tim Szczygiel, President and Founder
of SalesChain. "SalesChain
continues to build enterprise level sales automation solutions. Our focus on customer service, functionality, education, scalability
and affordability make us the partner of choice."
About SalesChain
SalesChain is a leading provider of on demand sales force automation and customer base management software. SalesChain provides unprecedented access and control over customer and prospecting data, with emphasis placed on workflow automation and lease portfolio management. For more information please visit
www.SalesChain.com
or call 203-262-1611.
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DealerTrack
Acquires LeaseLink Family of Desking Tools
Broadens Capabilities
of Leading Online Auto Finance Platform
MELVILLE, N.Y., --
DealerTrack, Inc., which operates North America's leading online auto
finance platform, today announced that its webalg, inc. affiliate has
acquired substantially all of the assets of LML Technologies. The assets include the LeaseLink(R) family of desking solutions,
which enable automotive dealers to identify the best leasing, retail
or balloon financing options to meet their customers' needs. LML's GuestTrack(TM) business development tool and its FinanceWizard(TM)
product were also included in the asset transaction.
LML invented LeaseLink,
one of the industry's first desking tools, 14 years ago. With features such as A-B-C pencil, advanced
worksheets and guaranteed data, LeaseLink has built a customer base
of approximately 3,000 automotive dealers.
Mark O'Neil, DealerTrack's
president and chief executive officer, commented, "We are very
pleased to announce this key expansion of the DealerTrack(TM) platform. With its speed, power and data guarantee, LeaseLink
is the best-in-class desking tool for dealers who want to evaluate financing
options for their customers. We
are particularly excited about LML's recent rollout of the industry's
first 'live' retail loan comparison capability, which enables LeaseLink
to analyze a much broader range of financing alternatives than any other
tool in the marketplace."
Mark Simmons, president
and chief executive officer of LML Technologies, said, "We would
like to thank our loyal customers in dealerships across America for
their support over the years. Together
with the DealerTrack team, we have carefully developed an action plan
to ensure that our customers' ongoing needs are met -- and that most,
in fact, realize incremental benefits -- as LeaseLink integrates with
the DealerTrack product suite."
Mr. O'Neil concluded,
"This transaction provides us with a significant enhancement to
the capability of the integrated DealerTrack platform. We believe that offering dealers a more comprehensive auto finance
solution with products such as the F&I Tool Suite, eContracting,
DMS Integration, Activity Reports, WebsitePlus and now LeaseLink, will
make the financing process more seamless and more profitable."
About DealerTrack,
Inc.:
With over 24,000 dealers and over 80 financing sources currently connected, DealerTrack is North America's premier independent Web-based platform that automates and accelerates the entire automotive financing process. The DealerTrack suite of products -- which work together as one easy- to-use, integrated solution -- includes: credit report access; credit application processing; electronic contracting; desking tools; activity reporting; and a dealer website product. Additionally, the DealerTrack platform features integration with top dealer management systems for credit reports, credit application processing and electronic contracting. Through its participation in AFSA, ASC X9, SPeRS, STAR and other organizations, DealerTrack continues to drive industry-wide technology standards to support the total financing process. More information on DealerTrack is available at
http://www.dealertrack.com
or by calling 877-357-8725.
### Press Release###########################
Capgemini Promotes Alvi Abuaf to Lead the Financial Services
Practice
NEW YORK-- --Capgemini
U.S. LLC, a part of the Capgemini Group, one of the world's largest
providers of Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services, announced
today that Alvi Abuaf has been promoted to Vice President, Leader of
the firm's Financial Services Practice for the Americas. Mr. Abuaf has
been serving as the leader of the Securities Industry and Wealth Management
Practice for the Americas. His new position will encompass all of the
financial services industry including Insurance, Retail and Commercial
Banking, Capital Markets, Real Estate and Wealth Management. Mr. Bertrand
Lavayssiere, who served as the leader of both Americas and Global practice
will continue his role as the Global Leader.
"I have worked closely with Alvi over the last few years and
am delighted to announce his promotion to lead the Americas Financial
Services Practice," said Mr. Lavayssiere. "Over the past several
years, Alvi has been influential in driving and building Capgemini's
client relationships and industry focused solutions. His deep financial
services expertise and market focus will help drive our vision of growth
for the practice in the Americas."
"Alvi's depth of experience and proven leadership in financial
services positions Capgemini very well to execute on our business plan
of providing clients with unparalleled collaborative industry expertise,"
stated Chell Smith, Americas Chief Executive Officer for Capgemini.
"Alvi has demonstrated his talents in many ways, most notably by
earning a stellar reputation for leading our Securities Industry and
Wealth Management practice. Through his efforts, the practice doubled
its revenues last year. I am confident that Alvi will grow our overall
Financial Services Practice as we look toward 2005."
"This is an exciting time for the Financial Services Practice
at Capgemini," remarked Alvi Abuaf. "We will be very focused
on growth. I plan to enhance our practice's overall expertise by developing
deeper capabilities in areas such as wealth management, claim processing,
insurance agent portals, regulatory and compliance, retail financial
services and equity research. We will grow our client portfolio, deepen
our relationships with financial services focused vendors, leverage
our current assets and extend our team to provide a deeper set of capabilities
to our clients. We will become the shining star of the industry"
Mr. Abuaf joined Ernst & Young Consulting Services, later acquired
by Capgemini, in 1989. He was elected to the partnership in 1991. Prior
to joining Ernst & Young Consulting Services, Mr. Abuaf was a Principal
at The McLean Group, a boutique Management Consultancy in New York and
London, which was acquired by Ernst & Young Consulting Services.
He earned a bachelor's degree with honors from the State University
of New York at Buffalo, and a master's degree from Columbia University.
Mr. Abuaf lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
About Capgemini
Capgemini, one of the world's foremost providers of Consulting,
Technology and Outsourcing services, has a unique way of working with
its clients, which it calls the Collaborative Business Experience. Through
commitment to mutual success and the achievement of tangible value,
the company helps businesses implement growth strategies, leverage technology,
and thrive through the power of collaboration. Capgemini employs approximately
55,000 people worldwide and reported 2003 global revenues of 5.754 billion
euros. Capgemini's Financial Services practice is well recognized for
offering creative solutions, thought leadership and technology to the
banking, insurance, wealth management, asset management, investment
banking, real estate, leasing and securities processing sectors. More
information about individual service lines, offices and research is
available at www.capgemini.com.
CONTACT:Capgemini John Patterson, 917-934-8735 john.j.patterson@capgemini.com
or GCI Group Robert
Ferris, 212-537-8025 rferris@gcigroup.com
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