In The Know

In this special episode, Barry Bobrow talks with the CEO of the Secured Finance Network and long-time colleague, Rich Gumbrecht. This Inside Look at SFNet tells a tale of dedication through the turbulent times of recent years. With initiatives in advocacy, mentorship and career development, information resources, and a wide array of both in-person and virtual events, SFNet continues to lead through adversity. Rich talks about all that SFNet does for both its members and the secured finance industry. Barry and Rich also discuss SFNet’s upcoming 78th Annual Convention, which takes place Nov. 9-11, 2022, in Austin, TX.

Joining Barry for this discussion is Kathy Dick, Founder and CEO of Salt of the Earth Consulting. SOTE is a consultant on risk management and regulatory issues for financial institutions that leverages Kathy’s many years in senior roles with as a regulator and as a consultant. Kathy and Barry discuss the most recent banking Stress Tests, which highlight the strength of the U.S. banking system and the emerging concerns by regulators regarding the impact of a potential economic downturn on bank capital buffers. Kathy gives her recommendations to banks for strengthening their relationships with their regulators and offers her unique perspective on the most common misperceptions that bankers and regulators have about each other.

This podcast has nothing to do with business or markets. Most people who know Barry understand that his passion for asset-based lending is surpassed only by his passion for tennis. In honor of the US Open Tennis tournament that starts August 29, 2022, he has recorded a special edition of SFNet presents In the Know with his good friend and fellow tennis wonk – Valerie Mason of Otterbourg. It’s a great preview of the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, and an insider’s guide to getting the most out of attending the tournament at the Billie Jean King US National Tennis Center.  Not to ruin the surprise but they have a special introduction by another famous tennis tandem – the Bryan Brothers. 

Hope you enjoy this. Thanks to Valerie Mason for joining Barry on a great tennis journey. And thanks to Hilco Global for their sponsorship of the SFNet presents In the Know series.

For this fascinating discussion, host Barry Bobrow is joined by David Chmiel, Managing Director of Global Torchlight, a UK-based political risk consulting business. David’s unique perspective on geopolitical events is on full display in the conversation, which moves from recent developments in Taiwan and China to Ukraine war-related issues and finishes with the UK leadership succession. David and Barry go over the current political issues and connect them to potential economic and business impacts. 

In this podcast Maria Dikeos of Refinitiv joins host Barry Bobrow for a discussion of the Q2 and first half of 2022 leveraged debt and asset-based markets. After a record 2021 for syndicated asset-based lending volumes, it would have been reasonable to expect the market to fall off, as it has for all other credit markets in 2022. As you will hear, that is definitely not the case, with asset-based volume having a record six-month level. Maria and Barry make extensive use of data slides for their discussion.

To download the slide deck or watch the full video, join us at SFNet: https://www.sfnet.com/home/industry-data-publications/in-the-know

I’m very excited to let you know that the second video podcast in the “SFNet presents In The Know” series is now available.  My guest is David Silverman, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings.  David’s specific coverage includes the retail sector, which is the largest industry segment for the asset based industry. Fitch has a broad practice in retail ratings, covering several dozen large public companies. David also provides private ratings for the debt of a variety of non-public retailers.

David’s expertise provided the perfect setting for our discussion – Titled “Retailing at a Crossroads – as Usual”- focused on how rapidly retailing is changing in response to a variety of factors, including changing consumer behavior in response to concerns over inflation and the potential for a recession, and the continuing supply chain and labor issues.  The consequences of all of these factors have led to wide volatility in financial performance and ratings for retailers, turnover in the C-Suite, and rapidly evolving business strategies. David and I also discussed the inventory issues facing many retailers, and how he anticipates they will be addressed. 

Our Host, Barry Bobrow, explores the current state of the direct lending market and how it is benefiting from the disruptions of the broadly syndicated debt markets, with his guest Randy Schwimmer, founder of the Lead Left (where any friend of Barry's will get free access).