Lighthouse Financial Corp. announced that James A. (Al) Foster has been hired as Vice President, Business Development to cover Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and southern Ohio.  Foster's primary responsibility will be the origination of new asset-based loans in his territory along with obtaining collateral monitoring assignments with community banks lacking sufficient staffing or in-house expertise.  The addition of Foster is part of Lighthouse's strategy to grow its loan portfolio both in size and geographic reach.
  
Foster is an industry veteran with over 17 years of experience in asset-based lending, most recently as Vice President with Keltic Financial Services, LLC.  Earlier in his career, Foster was a Vice President with First Tennessee Bank and Wells Fargo Business Credit.  Foster also served as Vice President and Business Development Officer for Lighthouse in the past giving him an immediate understanding of the products and services offered by Lighthouse.  He holds a business degree in Finance from Appalachian State University.
 
Commenting on Foster's hiring, Lighthouse president J. Brad Leach said "We are delighted to have Al Foster return to Lighthouse after several years with other lenders.  We are focused on strategically increasing the size of our loan portfolio and Al's addition will permit us to work more closely with potential clients and referral sources in the market areas we seek to serve more effectively.  We believe that creative loan structuring, rapid credit evaluation and approvals, expedited loan closing schedules and superior service are what today's borrowers demand.  With Al joining the Lighthouse team, we are well positioned to provide these qualities to our expanding client base."
 
Foster's office is located in Knoxville, Tennessee. 
   
Lighthouse Financial Corp. is a commercial finance company that provides accounts receivable and inventory financing to small and mid-sized businesses with loans between $500,000 and $5 million  Businesses financed include manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and service companies located in the eastern half of the United States.  Lighthouse loans are typically used to fund growth and expansion, financial restructuring and refinancing, debtor-in possession financing, acquisitions, partner or shareholder buy-outs and business turnarounds.  Client companies generally have annual sales of between $4 million and $50 million.