Staying Above the Fray B Y S US A N L . H O D G E S S It’s a normal part of the cycle in equipment finance, but the factors combining to prolong the seller’s market this year are more numerous than ever. The sale of major parts of GE Capital, mergers among banks due to problems generating asset growth and the decline of oil and gas markets are among trends making high-quality transactions scarce. O MUCH MONEY, SO FEW DEALS. At the same time, the continued flow of new entities into the market, burgeoning liquidity and finance and banking firms’ need to grow their earning assets have created enormous demand for deals. Add to the mix declining growth in China and falling commodity prices as they af-fect U.S. manufacturing, and it’s not surprising whole business sectors are hurting while investors from Beijing to Boca Raton clamor for safe places to put their capital. In advance of ELFA’s Funding Conference, April 19–21 in Chicago, Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine spoke to members of the Funding Exhibition Planning Committee re-garding the state of funding. Despite the situation, the funding professionals we spoke with are guardedly hopeful about the rest of the year. They say if finance firms remain disciplined about credit structure, the industry should be able to push through current challenges and emerge intact on the other side. “ There’s still pent-up demand from last year. People are looking to buy more business, and some have nearly unlimited funds.” –Eric Staczek, MB Equipment Finance Individual Influences Eric Staczek, Senior Vice President of Capital Markets at MB Equipment Finance in Hunt Valley, Maryland, believes a lot will hinge on outcomes from the sell-off of most of GE Capital. “I’ll be very surprised if we don’t see one or two new equipment finance firms started this year by former GE Capital executives,” he says. 20 MARCH/APRIL 2016 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE And since new companies often look to build portfolio by buying business before their own sales forces hit the street, Staczek expects the influx of new firms to add further to li-quidity and strengthen competition for middle-market deals. “GE Capital was such a meaningful and consistent player in the middle-market segment, helping other companies build portfolios,” he says. “Someone needs to replace them on the origination side.” MB Equipment Finance is trying to do its part, Staczek says, by shifting marketing efforts to the direct-lending side of the business and increasing its front-end direct-origina-tion force. “Early on, we focused on buying business,” he says. “Then as MB Equipment Finance grew and achieved its revenue goals, we began to focus our efforts on new chan-nels and driving additional business. We evolved and took advantage of market opportunities that strengthened our