Crestmark Bank seeks Springfield-area startups

In July, Crestmark Bank of Troy, Mich., hired Donna Mullane to represent the institution in Springfield. Last week, Mullane was named vice president of business development and is currently working out of a home-based sales office. Mullane learned of Crestmark through a professional recruiter.

Crestmark, which celebrated its 10th anniversary Oct. 1, specializes in asset-based lending, accounts-receivable financing and factoring, or loans against accounts receivable. The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce recently named Crestmark one of the 2006 Future 50 of Greater Detroit for its positive impact on southeast Michigan’s economy.

Crestmark is an FDIC-insured, state-chartered bank that caters to businesses that don’t qualify for funding from traditional banks, said Executive Vice President Martin Blake. Crestmark’s customers include startups and struggling business-to-business firms that need to borrow between $50,000 and $3 million, Blake said.

“Businesses who sell to other businesses – that’s who we help,” he said.

Up to 80 percent of Crestmark’s customers are referred by bankers, attorneys, certified public accountants and business consultants, Blake said, adding that businesses with less than $5 million in annual sales often have a tough time securing financing through traditional means.

“Those smaller companies – they really struggle,” Blake added.

According to Crestmark, other banks retain their customers’ fee-based relationships and maintain loyalty because Crestmark sends the customer back to the referring banker once the business has strengthened its credit.

“Our main goal is to keep (customers) with the bank and get them back where they will qualify for a conventional lending mechanism,” Mullane said. “My job is to … let people know this is a great growth and business tool.”

Blake said Crestmark has received a positive response in the Springfield market and that Mullane has met with local bankers in her hunt for prospective clients.

One of those bankers is Aaron Buerge, senior vice president at First National Bank of Springfield.

Buerge said Crestmark helps businesses leverage their accounts receivables for credit.

These types of loans are inherent risks that carry a slightly higher-than-normal interest rate, and many banks – First National among them – don’t offer the service.

“I have to flat-out turn them away,” Buerge said. “It’s a good thing for me to be able to send somebody in the right direction. It’s good to be able to give them another option.”

Mullane is responsible for sales and marketing as well as negotiating and closing all new transactions for Crestmark’s Springfield office. But after four months, she’s still having some difficulty marketing a bank that isn’t housed in a local office building.

“We’re not a bank that has tellers and safe-deposit boxes,” she said. “My mobile (phone) and laptop are my office.”

Mullane, who was previously vice president of business development for CDS Capital, has 20 years of experience in banking, financial services and business consulting.

She studied accounting and finance at Missouri State and Drury universities and ran Professional Business Assistance Inc. for 10 years with her ex-husband.

In recent months, Crestmark has opened sales offices in Springfield, Mass.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Mooresville, N.C., and it has plans to open other offices in coming months. Its regional sales offices are in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; and Chicago.

“We’re looking to expand where it’s appropriate,” Blake said.

Crestmark recently added a salesperson in Cincinnati and is adding one in Cleveland, and Blake said future expansion would likely include the Southwest, Southeast and mid-Atlantic states.

Crestmark Bank

Headquarters: 5480 Corporate Drive, Ste. 350, Troy, Mich.

President/CEO: W. David Tull

Established: 1996

Type of business: Commercial bank offering asset-based lending and accounts receivable factoring

Full-time employees: 50

Assets: $144 million

2005 revenue: $22.1 million

Average annual growth rate: 23 percent

Local contact: Donna Mullane, vice president of business development, (417) 818-9906

Sources: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, American Banker[[In-content Ad]]