The Commercial Finance Association Education Foundation released its second Secured Lending Confidence Index “SLCI”.  The index, initially launched in April 2018, reflects prevailing business conditions and is a broad-based leading indicator of vitality in the U.S. middle market.  The SLCI surveys leaders of commercial finance companies who provide secured loans used to finance ongoing operations, expansion and recapitalization of mid-market companies, according to Richard D. Gumbrecht, CEO of the Commercial Finance Association.

A chart detailing the CFA's findingscanbe viewed here.

“These outcomes demonstrate that demand for capital to finance operations continues to be strong,” said CFA Education Foundation Executive Director, Greg Slowik, “both currently and looking down the road.”

“It’s encouraging to note that sound economic fundamentals generate such strong confidence levels among our peers, which surely is an indication of the favorable opportunities for the ABL community for the balance of 2018,” said Dan Karas, EVP and Chief Lending Officer of TBK Bank, SSB, which is a member of CFA.

The SCLI measures five dimensions of anticipated activity over the coming three months including overall business conditions, portfolio performance, demand for new business, client utilization and hiring expectations. Respondents indicated the most optimism for new business demand followed by business conditions overall, both positive indicators for the U.S. economy.