Leasing News

Senior Credit Officer experienced in middle- market leasing; structured, vendor and 3rd party to the fortune 1000. Proactive team builder, originations capable with strong work ethic. Email: kyletrust@hotmail.com

Senior Management: Baltimore, MD

25 year veteran of commercial and equipment leasing seeking a senior management position with leasing or asset based financing company in the southeast (Florida preferred)

Email: kellogg_md@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Denver, CO. Fortune 500 GM/SVP wants to team up with aggressive lender looking for Western expansion mid-market equip. finance/leasing. 20+ years experience within Rocky Mountain/ Southwest and Ca markets. Email: legal@csotn.com

Senior Management: Irvine, CA.

Credit executive, portfolio manager and syndication facilitator. Extensive business building experience in small and mid-ticket operations. Highly innovative. Fortune 100 audit and technology skills. Bottom-line manager. Email: lenhubbard@bigfoot.com

Senior Management: Long Island, NY

Degree Banking/Finance. 13 years leasing exp. Now prez young leasing company where promises were not met. Interested in joining established firm with future. Email:bob33483@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Portfolio Management Consultant; 25+years experience in Collections, Customer Satisfaction, Asset Management, Recoveries, Continuous Process Improvement, Back end Revenue Generation, Cost per Collection Analysis. $5+Billion Portfolio expertise. Email: efgefg@rogers.com

Senior Management: San Francisco, CA., 25 years experience w/global leasing company, sales,marketing,business dev., P&L responsibility, asset mgmt, brokering and re- marketing. Interested in joining an est. firm with a future. Email:rcsteyer@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Tampa FL.20+ years of small to middle ticket finance, operations and sales management experience. Outstanding record of revenue enhancement, operational improvement and team development. Email: rlindcpa@earthlink.net

full list of those seeking employment at: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

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Leasing Industry “Help Wanted”

Accounting Mgr/Bookkeeper: Will implement and monitor stringent financial policies, procedures and internal controls. Must have full understanding of the leasing operation to include income recognition, amortization, forecasting and budgeting. Exp with Lease Plus preferred. Have at least 5 years exp. in the small ticket leasing industry. BA in Accounting preferred. email: careers@fivepointcapital.com
REF: LNORG

About the company: Five Point Capital, Inc. is a rapidly growing San Diego based national equipment finance company. We are continually looking to add talented people to our growing force who have the same ambitions and drive to make Five Point Capital #1 in our industry. www.fivepointcapital.com

Is seeking Account Executives ready to roll up their sleeves in establishing strategic financing alliances with select vendors and manufacturers in healthcare, industrial and technology market place segments. Proven track record of success in equipment financing a must. Specific industry and collateral experience is a plus. Hiring now in major markets throughout the country. Email your resume to eokeeffe@ifccredit.com

About the Company: IFC Credit Corporation is a fast growing, national equipment finance company providing a broad range of financing solutions to small business and middle-market clients. IFC offers equipment financing and leasing, customer finance programs for equipment vendors, and venture leasing services to emerging growth companies. The company is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Morton Grove, Illinois.

Stable funding source seeks experienced leasing representative; book of business required; remote office capability; send resume to jobs@balboacapital.com and reference leasingnews in subject line.

Senior Credit Analyst: Will be responsible for credit investigation, analysis and have the ability to assess the creditworthiness of our clients. Must have superb quantitative analytical skills and 2 yrs. exp in the small ticket leasing industry.
email: careers@fivepointcapital.com
REF: LNORG

Senior Funding/Doc Specialist: Will produce accurate documentation and provide support as the contact between our sales force, vendors and banks. Ensure doc requests are completed in an accurate and timely manner. Must be detail oriented and have at least 2 yrs exp, small ticket leasing industry preferred.
email: careers@fivepointcapital.com
REF:LNORG

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Where is Larry Brittingham?

A few years ago he used to be with JDR and prior to that Advanta. A reader is

trying to reach him.

Please Write Cook County Commissioners

ELT News

Industry members nationwide are urged to write the Cook County Commissioners in Illinois to explain the harmful impact of a proposed 4% lease tax that would pyramid atop the Chicago Transaction Tax. MidAmerica Association of Equipment Lessors President Clyde Cady, president of Facility Capital Corporation in Chicago, stresses every contact with Commissioners is critical before the final vote expected on Tuesday, December 9.

A sample letter and profiles of Commissioners including mailing addresses click on “Cook County [Chicago] Lease Tax Letters and Testimony” at

http://www.elaonline.com/GovtRelations/State/

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Readers Respond to “Leasing Company Name With Held”

“I read the story on the above. I've been a broker in the leasing business for over 20 years and it is obvious that the Leasing Co. and ‘Mr Name Withheld’ are committing an immoral if not illegal act. Any legitimate broker or leasing company that takes a deposit and then refuses to return it , in my opinion is doing an illegal act and also has no moral stand. If there was some legitimate expenses involved, like credit reports or other reports paid for by the leasing co. or broker, then they should get reimbursed for this only and not keep the whole amount of the deposit.

“In my experience over the years, any finance co. , leasing co. or bank that tried to play games with the deposits I automatically excluded them from by list of financing sources.

“Let's put the facts forward, with names, and let them defend their untenable position.”

Sincerely, Art Olson, President,

Machinery Leasing Co, Willard, OH

aolson11@earthlink.net

“Based on the facts I see, I do not think the money should be kept unless

their was a specific agreement stating such that the money was earned once

the transaction was approved.

“I do not think you can keep advance rents if you do not fund the transaction, even if someone deceives you. To me, you would need an agreement outlining the conditions that the money would be earned in the event the lease does not fund.

“On smaller transactions, an agreement like this is usually not plausible. I'd just consider it good luck that I had a chance to dodge a potential bullet if I was being deceived.”

Gary Trebels

GTREBELS@IFCCREDIT.COM

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“A question or two for you. Do you have two set of standards? One for a

‘Jeff Beier’ a relatively unknown in the industry and a second one for

‘Mr Popular’. And, if ‘Mr. Popular’ has the belief and conviction that

he is ethical in his dealings, then why doesn't he want his name in

print?

Steve Reid, CLP

VP Marketing, Leasing Division

Santa Barbara Bank & Trust

2230 W. Chapman Ave #200

Orange, Ca 92868

800-700-9858

714-938-0288 (fax)

email: reidst@sbbt.com

“I really enjoy your newsletter and the information it provides for the

industry. I am responding to your article about ‘Leasing Company’s Name

Withheld’.

“My first thoughts are that if "Mr. Name with held" felt he had done

everything right then there would be nothing to hide concerning this

transaction. With as much fraud that goes on within this industry, your

newsletter is one of the few ways we can at the least be informed about

possible "problem" funders or brokers. “

Brian Griffin

Vice President-Sales

Mantis Financial

(e) brian@mantisfinancial.com

“How could you not print the name of a legitimate complaint just because he

is a friend of one of your cronies? When you do this you lose all

credibility as a provider of "Accurate, fair and unbiased news for the

equipment Leasing Industry". Furthermore, I would think your potential

liability for publishing these complaints would go up significantly now that

it can be shown that you are prone to favoritism in what you publish.

“Either publish the guy's name or stop publishing complaints all together.”

Jeff Wetter

jwetter@flexlease.com

www.flexlease.com

“I've always believed your newsletter was not ‘fair & accurate’ Mr. Menkin. I've read past newsletters where you praise specific brokers and individuals in the industry who have reputations as liars, con artists, and criminals. Apparently, these individuals/companies have "friends" on your advisory board and complaints are never posted against them. As a casual reader of your newsletter, I find it highly unprofessional of you not to print the names of the parties involved in the third complaint.

“Your claim that members of your advisory board ‘"do not want it printed with names as Mr. Leasing Company Name With Held is their friend’ is pathetic. If the complaint appears to be legitimate for the Leasing News Bulletin Board, names should be reported, period.

“You seem to have no problem reporting the complaints against Mr. Beier and Mr. Hartley since they have no friends on your "advisory board."

“Too bad for Beier and Hartley. Great to know that you are not biased.”

( anonymous)

(For the record, our advisory board members are listed on our website:

Bob Baker, Wildwood Financial, St. Louis, MO
Steve Crane, Bank of the West, Walnut Creek, CA
Phil Dushay, Global Leasing, New York, NY
Steve Geller, Leasing Solutions LLC, Wesley Hills, NY
Ken Greene, Attorney, Greenbrae, CA
Bruce Kropschot, Kropschot Financial Services, Vero Beach, FL
Fred St. Laurent, Managing Director, TheBlassGroup, Atlanta, GA.
Charlie Lester, LPI Financial, Marietta, GA
Shari Lipski, Marketing Manager, Edwin C. Segal Ltd., Northbrook, IL.
Bob Rodi, LeaseNow, Warrendale, PA
Bob Teichman, Teichman Financial Training, Sausalito,CA
Paul Torresl, San Francisco, CA.
Rob Yohe, Yohe and Associates, Stilwell, KS
Ginny Young, Brava Capital, Orange, CA

(( This is what I said at the beginning of the article: “Several of the Leasing News Advisory Board members do not want it printed with names as "Mr. Leasing Company Name With Held" is their friend, several believe it should be printed with names as it is a ‘legitimate complaint,’ some don't want to get involved "at all, and others say it is the ‘editor's job’ to make these decisions. “

(As with all boards, you get a cross section. Please let me state for the record, it was perhaps two who were opposed; one said I was being “very sanctimonious:” The overwhelming majority wanted me to print it with names. It is true a few cautioned about issues, perhaps two said it was the editor’s decision and not the advisory board ( which it really is) and one said he did not want to give an opinion. It is a very good board, diverse, and with different points of view. I like it that way. We don’t have any “yes men or women” serving . They

serve to speak their mind. editor)

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“So without commenting on the merits of the situation, it occurs to me that if ‘Mr. Name Withheld’ had not been a friend of some of your Board members, his name would have been plastered all over this reported complaint, something you just did to Mr. Hartley and Mr. Beier in this issue, and to other mere mortals in the past under similar circumstances.

So, if you're going to play this game, at least play it fairly and either tell everyone who ‘Mr. Name Withheld’ is, or amend your policy to prohibit revealing ANY names when reporting disputes of this kind.

Regards,

Ken

Kenneth D. Goodman, CLP

kendg@msn.com

(It was not against policy.

(It is not uncommon for us not to name the parties, as evidenced in our weekly bulletin board reports (which have turned out to be more monthly, but that is another point.)

Please go here to see previous reports where we do not use names or companies.

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Weekly_Report.htm

(You will see we often "preview" bulletin board complaints without names. Our role is to resolve the complaints, meaning negotiate a settlement. It is the role of an ombudsman. Many newspapers have such a “feature, “often called “Action Line. We are happy to report we resolve up to 80% of those submitted. editor )

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Kenneth C. Greene—An Attorney’s Perspective-“Advance Payments”

As I think we all know, this issue of retention of "advance payments" has

been lurking about for quite a while. Years ago, I litigated a case in which

the prospective lessee, prior to financing, had given the broker a first and

last month's payment, together with a security deposit. The broker, after

the lessee sought financing elsewhere, refused to return the money, based on

its contention that the money was an earned and thus non-refundable

"commitment fee", although there was scant documentation supporting that

position. The case was not far from trial when it was settled at a

settlement conference conducted by the judge who was scheduled to hear the

case. It was very much a compromise settlement, which meant, in effect, that

neither side was happy with the result. Interestingly, and perhaps the only

reason the case settled at all, the judge was not altogether convinced of

the merits of either side's legal arguments, as there was virtually no law

on the subject, although he did express empathy for both party's "moral"

position.

Since then, I have always advised clients that there is a meaningful

distinction between advance payments and commitment fees and that if a

broker/lessor truly wants a prospective lessee to confirm that an advance

payment, regardless of its denomination, is non-refundable, in whole or in

part, it should be in writing. The parties should sign a separate proposal

letter (as any agreement on the subject contained in the lease itself, if

the lease never takes effect, is unlikely to be binding). In certain

instances, and particularly in certain states, the parties should agree that

the money be segregated in an interest bearing account.

We had a lively debate on this subject at one UAEL conference. Whereas

there was no consensus amongst the attorneys (is there ever?) as to the

mechanics of such a proposal, it was and still is my position that you can

spell out in a signed pre-lease proposal letter (1) that some or all of the

advance fee is non-refundable (2) whether any refundable monies will be paid

with interest (3) the circumstances under which the fee becomes

non-refundable, as well as those events which require that the fees be

returned, i.e. the broker/lessor's inability to obtain financing (4) whether

the monies will be placed in a segregated "escrow" account and (5) any other

relevant issues. This can be a laborious process and may not always be

conducive to the use of boilerplate forms, though a broker/lessor can adopt

the usage of several different types of letters depending upon the nature of

the transaction, and/or modify them as needed.

I know that, particularly in the small ticket leasing world, the

broker/lessor is always reluctant to add more documentation, when the trend

over the past ten years or more has been to minimize and simplify the paper

process. Whether to adopt this suggested practice in this competitive market

is no doubt a business decision each company must make. In doing so,

however, a leasing company should at a minimum be well aware of the risks of

not documenting the agreement regarding advance fees, as invariably the

parties will later insist there was no agreement, take contrary positions,

with all the problems ensuing from this type of disagreement. There are many

more than I can outline here.

Today, with the leasing industry the focus of legislative, judicial, and

media scrutiny more than ever, it is an unfortunate corollary that those

engaged in leasing are better served if they avoid the temptation to put

everything in a single document. It is my advice that they act to protect

their interests, even if it means an extra step in the application process.

These little headaches can help to prevent much larger ones down the road.

Ken Greene

Kenneth C. Greene

Law Offices of Kenneth C. Greene

980 Magnolia Avenue Suite 6C

Larkspur, CA 94939

Vox: 415 461 3777

Fax: 415 461 3733

E-Mail: keng@kengreenelaw.com

Website: www.kengreenelaw.com

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“Ethical Decisions as Value Maximizing Behavior”

By Calvin M.Boardman, PhD

Journal of Equipment Lease Financing Fall 2003 Vol. 21/No. 2

(signature publication of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation.

(The Foundation, provides its publications and resources free to those studying and researching in the equipment lease financing industry and to industry professionals.)

“Moral standards supersede an individual’s self-interest.The

community can decide that a person should not lie or cheat even

though it may be in that person’s self-interest to do so.”

http://two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Ethical%20Decisions%20
as%20Value%20Maximizing%20Behavior.pdf

Some excerpts:

“For example, if you hear any of the

following phrases, examine the situation carefully

for possible lapses in ethical judgment:

1. Everybody else does it.

2. If we don’t do it, someone else will.

3. That’s the way it has always been done.

4. We’ll wait until the lawyers tell us it’s wrong.

5. It doesn’t really hurt anyone.

6. The system is unfair.

7. I was just following orders.

“To the extent an industry promotes and polices itself

to the point where ethical decision-making is the

norm, the entire industry will benefit.

“5. Was there evidence of a dispute resolution

process when allegations of unethical

behavior were levied against members?

Result: Only the ELA and UAEL websites

provided information about their dispute

resolution review process.

“6. Was there a clear process for the association

to prosecute that behavior by referrals to

criminal prosecutors or expulsion from the

association? Result: ELA, UAEL, NAELB,

and EAEL all provided information about

their procedures for the investigation of ethical

violations and the potential ramifications

of such procedures. The ELA and

UAEL procedures appeared to be more

complete than the others. The CLP and

AGL&F websites had no such reference.

“7. How many steps did the visitor to an association’s

website have to take to locate that

association’s code of ethics or code of fair

business practices? Result: Only UAEL,

NAELB, and CLP provided reference to

their code of ethics or standards of behavior

on their home page. One had to search further

on the other associations’ websites to

locate their codes.

“IS A HAVING A CODE

OF ETHICS IMPORTANT?

There are a number of reasons for going through

all the effort to have such a code “including

demonstrating a concern for ethics by the organization,

transmitting ethical values of the organization

to its members, and impacting the

ethical behavior of those members,” say Thomas

Wotruba et al.9 But in spite of these compelling

motivations, the evidence is mixed as to whether

these codes make a difference in practice.”

This is a nine page article by Calvin M. Boardman, PhD, Professor of Finance at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City written

expressly for the Journal of Equipment Lease Financing.

Note: The Foundation, provides its publications and resources free to those studying and researching in the equipment lease financing industry and to industry professionals

AGL&F –Association of Government Leasing and Finance www.aglf.org/

CLP-Certified Leasing Professional Foundation www.clpfoundation.org/

ELA –Equipment Leasing Association www.elaonline.com

EAEL-Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors www.eael.org

NAELB—National Association of Equipment Brokers www.naelb

UAEL-United Association of Equipment Leasing www.uael.org

http://two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Ethical%20
Decisions%20as%20Value%20Maximizing%20Behavior.pdf

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### Press Release #######################

CENTRIX Financial and Portfolio Financial Servicing Company

Announce Partnership

CENTENNIAL, CO/Portland, OR, - - CENTRIX Financial, LLC, a

financial management and services firm, announced today that Portfolio

Financial Servicing Company ("PFSC") has been selected to become the Backup

Servicer of Record for the CENTRIX Financial portfolio.

As part of this agreement PFSC will provide complete backup contract

administration functions and disaster recovery components for the financial

firm. In addition, PFSC will collaborate with CENTRIX on special projects

aimed to enhance the management of current and future portfolio growth.

"This new agreement with PFSC further bolsters the quality and security of

the product we provide to our clients," said Robert E. Sutton, Chairman and

Chief Executive Officer of CENTRIX Financial. "PFSC's comprehensive backup

servicing program and systems and their expertise in managing the needs of

large portfolios are a perfect fit with the demands of our business."

"PFSC is pleased to partner with a progressive company such as CENTRIX

Financial," commented Portfolio Financial Servicing Company's President and

CEO, Jerry Hudspeth. "CENTRIX's innovative business model allows it to

serve the interests of many different customer groups and provides the

standard for its market segments."

About PFSC

PFSC is the largest independent commercial lease and loan-servicing company

in the U.S. and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. PFSC provides

primary/master servicing, backup/successor servicing, and consulting for

leasing, loan and special asset portfolios. It currently services over $5.0

billion in assets. More information can be found at www.pfsc.com.

About CENTRIX Financial, LLC

Founded in 1990, Denver-based CENTRIX Financial's unique Special Auto

Finance programs have helped to put over 70,000 vehicles on the road in the

last five years alone. In 1998, the Company's CEO, Robert E. Sutton

introduced a new business model that was designed to address the

shortcomings in traditional approaches to the special finance market.

CENTRIX is leading the evolution of the auto finance industry. For

financial institutions, the Company's programs have brought a previously

unknown level of security and profitability to the $200 billion special auto

finance lending industry, while helping auto dealers find new ways to reach

out to a clientele that represents more than 25% of their potential market.

Just as importantly, CENTRIX is providing an underserved consumer group the

keys to new opportunities at competitive financing rates and with

professional service. Today, CENTRIX provides services across the country

through agreements with over 6600 dealerships, has over 550 employees and is

managing a $1 billion loan portfolio.

Please visit