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Fall 2011 Commercial Lending School Draws Rave Reviews

Twenty-three individuals from the financial services industry attended this year’s Commercial Lending School (held October 16-21) – credit and loan review analysts, lending officers, business development officers, and loan operations officers – from various parts of the country including Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.  A really terrific group of men and women who interacted with one another as though they had known each other for years!

The 19 financial  institutions represented at the School included: Atlantic Stewardship Bank, American Eagle FCU, 1st Constitution Bank, Capital One Bank, CFCU Commercial FCU, Connecticut Development Authority, Colonial Bank FSB, Eagle Bank, Fairfield County Bank, First Bank of Highland Park, The First State Bank, Greylock FCU, Heritage Community Bank, Metuchen Savings Bank, Naugatuck Valley Savings & Loan, New Millennium Bank, Skylands Community Bank, Vermont FCU, Valley Bank of Ronan, and Washington Area Community Investment Fund.

Terry Kenny, Market President, Metro Washington/Baltimore of TD Bank, launched the intensive 5-day School at 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon, focusing first on the “big picture” of commercial lending.  Terry addressed company strategies and the “typical business” of commercial lending.  On Monday morning, he continued his agenda on loan investigation, effective management, and a review of historical financial analysis.

On Tuesday, George Connors, President of WashingtonFirstBank (Washington, D.C.) began his segment and for a-day-and-a-half had the arduous task of “numbers crunching.”  George covered sensitivity analysis, cash flow and personal financial statement analysis, with two case studies reviewed. He also had several handouts and reviewed the pre-reading materials sent to the students prior to the start of the School.

Joe May, former Executive Vice President-Credit Administration for Whitney National Bank (New Orleans, LA) gave a dynamic presentation on Thursday and Friday, providing several real-life credit situations to the students.  Joe’s segment included loan support, documentation, negotiation, packaging, selling, problem loans and credit discipline. Several case studies were provided to the class earlier for discussion and review on Friday.

It was an intense week for the students but a gratifying learning experience!

Brent J. Gardner, Assistant Treasurer and Consumer Loan Officer, Heritage Community Bank, New Jersey had this to say about his first experience with the school, “CFT’s Commercial Lending School provided exactly what I expected and more. Based on my experience with this class – from course material to instructor selection – I would recommend CFT for any and all financial training without pause.”

Here’s what others had to say:

“I found the Commercial Lending School to be very helpful in increasing my knowledge in commercial lending. It helped me to see the big picture of the banking industry and taught me how to be a professional commercial lender. A wealth of knowledge was provided by all three instructors.”

“I truly enjoyed the school and would recommend it to my colleagues. I learned a lot and am glad that I attended. The book was extremely helpful for the class and I’ll be using it at my place of work.”

“The instructors were terrific – Terry Kenny delivered the lessons in a clear and professional manner and though we covered a lot of material in a short period of time, his easy going manner started our week-long session off with the essential building blocks about businesses and commercial lending. George Connors I have to give credit to for making the most difficult section of this course easy to understand. I thought this was the best part of the week. While cumbersome, determining cash flow properly is at the heart of business lending and one of the most important tools in evaluation good loans. Joe May’s “war stories” really helped me understand the material. Using past experience, Joe related all of the topics to actual events instead of just dictating the lessons to us. Many thanks to Karen and Jerry for making what could have been a long week into an enjoyable and memorable seminar. This was a great class and it should be mandatory for all lenders. I recommend it to all my colleagues.”

“The School was a great learning experience…the faculty and course materials were excellent. I would recommend a follow-up once a year (shorter of course) – maybe 1 or 2 day program. The facilities were good as were the meals. Thanks so much for offering this course. It was a tremendous help to me.

“I thought the curriculum was great, however, I would like to spend more time on the evaluation process. I would venture that Joe (May) could spend several days on his portion of the program which was very beneficial. “Terry Kenny was a good and dynamic speaker – good content and delivery. George is extremely intelligent and knows the ins and outs of underwriting with regard to the analysis and presentation. He was able to build on previous material. Joe (May) was an excellent presenter. He kept the class involved and actively listening. His teaching style also allowed the students to interact in a professional setting while discussing the cases presented.”

“The School was a great learning experience…the faculty and course materials were excellent. I would recommend a follow-up once a year (shorter of course) – maybe 1 or 2 day program. The facilities were good as were the meals. Thanks so much for offering this course. It was a tremendous help to me.”

To learn more about the Commercial Lending School, including the 2012 schedule, please contact Karen McMullen, SVP & Regional Director, Greater Atlantic Region, at 908-325-9958 or karen@cftacs.org.