Equipment Finance News Podcast

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Johnnie Martinez: On today's episode of the Dig, I
am joined by three members of

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Johnnie Martinez: the altar group and I will let
the three of them introduce

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Johnnie Martinez: themselves.

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Johnnie Martinez: Well, if you'd start us.

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Sure. Thanks, Johnnie.

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I'm Valerie Gerard Co, CEO of
the Alta Group and I lead the

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largest practice within Ulta
that's focused on providing

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general consulting and advisory
services. And you know it might

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make sense for me just to spend
a second to introduce the Alta

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group, to your listeners who
aren.

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Familiar with us, we have been
around for 30 years.

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We are the undisputed leader
when it comes to providing

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advisory services.

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On a global basis to the
equipment leasing and finance.

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Industry, we are exclusively
focused on equipment finance and

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leasing.

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We're not distracted by
mortgages or consumer autos.

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It's just the core equipment
leasing business and anything

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that a client would have in
terms of a need, we do it.

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So that could be assisting them
with some growth initiatives,

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entering new markets, becoming
more efficient in what they do.

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We have a lot of competitive
intelligence, market

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intelligence work we.

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We do.

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We assist in selecting leasing
systems.

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We have a group that is focused
on equipment management, so if

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you need some appraisals,
valuations, some residual

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impairment analysis as well as
remarketing, we have a team that

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does that.

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We offer mergers and
acquisitions as a practice which

the

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Jim Jackson: industry and buy a company and
also supporting, you know,

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Jim Jackson: sellers in the industry who
might be looking to sell their

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Jim Jackson: their property to to other
financial institutions.

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Jim Jackson: So Rick, I'll turn it over to
you.

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Rick Remiker: Yeah. Thanks, Jim and Johnnie.

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Rick Remiker: I'm Rick remicar.

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Rick Remiker: I'm vice chairman with the Alta
group and Prior to joining the

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Rick Remiker: Alta group nearly five years
ago, I spent 40 years in

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Rick Remiker: commercial banking, specialty
finance, and.

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Rick Remiker: Equipment, finance and equipment
leasing and I provide support

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Rick Remiker: and consultation to all the
members of the Alta group and

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Rick Remiker: clients predominantly in the
bank equipment finance space.

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Johnnie Martinez: Benja will thank all three of
you for joining us here today

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Johnnie Martinez: and I think the best place to
start now that we have the

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Johnnie Martinez: introduction and as well as kind
of the background of who you

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Johnnie Martinez: guys are covered, the 10,000
foot view part of the reason

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Johnnie Martinez: why.

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Johnnie Martinez: We are having a discussion today
is the release of the Alta

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Johnnie Martinez: Group's report on sort of the
state of the equipment finance

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Johnnie Martinez: industry and when we're talking
about the state of the industry,

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Johnnie Martinez: I think the best place to start
is like I said, that 10,000

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Johnnie Martinez: foot.

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Johnnie Martinez: View and we get some of the
specific areas.

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Johnnie Martinez: So going into 2025, as we look
at the rest of this year, what

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Johnnie Martinez: is the state of the equipment
finance industry?

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Well, why don't I kick it off
and tell you that I I think

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Johnnie Martinez: Mm hmm.

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there's a lot of opportunity for
the industry in 2025. You know,

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we're coming off a really rough
18 month patched where you had

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the bank failures at Silicon
Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

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And that really caused a
liquidity crisis that's put put

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the industry a little bit on
pause, if not in a backward step

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or two.

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And what we're seeing now is
we're looking into 2025.

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There are a lot of signs that
seem to suggest that it's going

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to be a good year for us when
you're looking at certain

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variables in the economy, when
you're looking at signals in the

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industry itself like industry
confidence and then you have a

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new administration that's
coming.

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In with some probusiness.

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Policies that certainly would
help bolster our industry and

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would result in a very positive
experience for equipment,

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finance and leasing companies.

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There are many different avenues
that we see in terms of growth

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for the industry in terms of,
you know, climate finance and

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financing, data centers,
equipment as a service, you

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know, all of those things will
certainly bolster the industry

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in terms of its growth. I would
say, however.

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One cautionary note in that is
there are a lot of wild cards

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out there. And so while we think
that there's a lot of

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opportunity for the industry,
management teams really need to

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be thinking about, you know,
we're not going to coast.

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To growth throughout 2025, there
might be some speed bumps along

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the way.

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Rick Remiker: And let me you know, let me jump
in Valerie and just encourage

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Rick Remiker: all the all the listeners to
pull down the the 2025 Alta

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Rick Remiker: Group Insights report.

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Rick Remiker: It's a great read.

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Rick Remiker: It covers a lot of different
segments and a lot of different

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Rick Remiker: areas that some of them will
touch on during this podcast.

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Rick Remiker: But.

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Rick Remiker: You know, if I could, if I could
summarize what sort of one

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Rick Remiker: overarching theme, I think it's
net net positive outlook for

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Rick Remiker: 2025.

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Rick Remiker: But certainly with high degree
of element of uncertainty.

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Rick Remiker: Maybe the advice to listeners
would be expect the unexpected.

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Rick Remiker: You know if you go back to if we
were recording this podcast

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Rick Remiker: exactly two years ago in mid
January of 20/20/20 of 2023, I

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Rick Remiker: think that we would have been
positive.

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Rick Remiker: Maybe not as positive as today,
but we would have been net

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Rick Remiker: positive at that point in two.
And just think what happened six

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Rick Remiker: or seven weeks later with the
collapse of several.

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Rick Remiker: Regional banks that created a
complete.

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Rick Remiker: Completely different industry
dynamic for the next year and a

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Rick Remiker: half or two years.

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Jim Jackson: Yeah, I think.

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Jim Jackson: I think that's a great point,
Rick.

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Jim Jackson: You know we we sort of get
lulled into a false sense of

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Jim Jackson: comfort sometimes.

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Jim Jackson: You know, Johnny, I'd follow
that up.

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Johnnie Martinez: Mm hmm.

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Jim Jackson: You know specifically on the M
and a market similar to

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Jim Jackson: Valerie's comments. You know the
last couple of years in terms of

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Jim Jackson: M and a activity, things have
been pretty quiet in the

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Jim Jackson: industry.

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Jim Jackson: But I think 2025 where we're
pretty well suited.

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Jim Jackson: From an economic standpoint, to
have a pretty strong M and a

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Jim Jackson: market.

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Jim Jackson: This year, you know, the market
does not like uncertainty.

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Jim Jackson: And there's there's a fair
amount of certainty around a

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Jim Jackson: number of factors, including the
fact that the uncertainty

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Jim Jackson: election you know is now behind
us.

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Jim Jackson: We have an administration in
place.

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Jim Jackson: Who's committed to reducing
regulation and and discussing a

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Jim Jackson: reduction in the corporate tax
rates?

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Jim Jackson: The stock market continues to
perform well.

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Jim Jackson: Unemployment levels are low.
Those traditionally a factors

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Jim Jackson: that generally contribute to a
pretty strong M and a market.

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Jim Jackson: The one factor that that's still
a little bit of a you know, an

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Jim Jackson: uncertainty at this point and
it's just you know reared its

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Jim Jackson: head not too long ago when we
had a super strong jobs report.

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Jim Jackson: You know the interest rate cut
has has kind of been sidelined,

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Johnnie Martinez: Mm hmm.

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Jim Jackson: if you will, by the Fed and
they're they're kind of

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Jim Jackson: backpedaling a bit on that. And
I think some of the Fed members

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Jim Jackson: are even thinking a hike might
be in order.

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Jim Jackson: That, of course, will.

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Jim Jackson: Will quell some M and a activity
if rates indeed rise.

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Jim Jackson: I think if I think you know the
other factors in the environment

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Jim Jackson: should keep us pretty steady,
but I'd caution keep an eye on

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Jim Jackson: interest rates cause those do
impact the the the level of M

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Jim Jackson: and a activity.

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Johnnie Martinez: Gotcha. Fantastic.

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Johnnie Martinez: And you know one thing I wanted
to get into, especially on the

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Johnnie Martinez: the M and a side and we can talk
about how this sort of plays

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Johnnie Martinez: into the wider equipment finance
space as well as are there any

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Johnnie Martinez: particular segments in terms of
you know, bank owned versus.

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Johnnie Martinez: Independent or you know,
specific asset types where

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Johnnie Martinez: you're seeing lenders that are
focused on these asset types

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Johnnie Martinez: more attractive in the M and a
space. Is there anything like

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Johnnie Martinez: that that's standing out as we
start to look at the rest of

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Johnnie Martinez: this year?

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Jim Jackson: Well, I think I think a couple
of factors.

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Jim Jackson: You know.

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Jim Jackson: Let let's talk about a couple
things that are going on in the

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Jim Jackson: marketplace.

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Jim Jackson: One area I think is is the lift
out teams that we're seeing. So

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Jim Jackson: certain strategics and others
are investing not not only in

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Jim Jackson: focused on complete companies,
if you will, but are focused on

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Jim Jackson: potentially lift out teams where
senior executives are brought

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Jim Jackson: over. That might help a strateg.

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Jim Jackson: To expand its market offerings
or gain some additional

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Jim Jackson: relationships.

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Jim Jackson: Think of the folks from Madison
Capital going over to Oakmont

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Jim Jackson: recently.

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Jim Jackson: Think again about the folks from
Honor Capital moving over to

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Jim Jackson: Dex.

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Jim Jackson: And I think we'll continue to
see those opportunistic lift

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Jim Jackson: outs going on throughout the
course of 2025.

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Jim Jackson: You know, I'd, I'd say the real
winners.

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Jim Jackson: For for.

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Jim Jackson: For the past year and I've seen
a lot of private equity

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Jim Jackson: investment in there, are these,
you know, middle market

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Jim Jackson: structured firms where the
private equity companies feel

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Jim Jackson: there's still a good return to
be made.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1477-0
Jim Jackson: With those businesses basically
picking up the slack for the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1477-1
Jim Jackson: banks as they sort of exited
those, those that tranche of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1477-2
Jim Jackson: assets and that tranche of
lending and those private equity

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1477-3
Jim Jackson: firms that went out and actually
built teams or acquired teams

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1477-4
Jim Jackson: that were versed in bringing
over structured cred.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1492-0
Jim Jackson: And potentially, you know,
structuring those in such a way

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1492-1
Jim Jackson: that they provide a strong
return.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1500-0
Jim Jackson: Similar to the Stonebriar model,
if you will.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1511-0
Jim Jackson: Where they can actually make a
decent return on their

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1511-1
Jim Jackson: investment.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1519-0
Rick Remiker: Yeah, Jim and I would just echo
that.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1563-0
Rick Remiker: I think that one of the big
questions hanging over all of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1563-1
Rick Remiker: the private equity investment in
the industry, which has been

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1563-2
Rick Remiker: significant and in some of the
most significant private equity

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1563-3
Rick Remiker: investment I've seen in in many
decades is when the banks get

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1563-4
Rick Remiker: back into the market if and.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1591-0
Rick Remiker: When they get back into the
market, will, will, will pricing

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1591-1
Rick Remiker: compression margin compression
Dr. pricing down across the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1591-2
Rick Remiker: industry or will it really be
constrained to that bank credit

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1591-3
Rick Remiker: quality?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1593-0
Rick Remiker: Sector.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1631-0
Rick Remiker: And you know, I think the early
signs are hopeful that the banks

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1631-1
Rick Remiker: are the bank equipment finance
companies are having greater

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1631-2
Rick Remiker: pricing discipline, focusing on
risk adjusted return, focusing

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1631-3
Rick Remiker: on customer relationships and
total relationship return. But

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1631-4
Rick Remiker: as they say, time will tell.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1636-0
Jim Jackson: That's an excellent point, Rick.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1638-0
Agreed.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1661-0
Johnnie Martinez: Gotcha. OK. And as we talk about
sort of the potential turn of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1661-1
Johnnie Martinez: the the banks, I know that's a
potential risk factor.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1692-0
Johnnie Martinez: One of the other ones I want to
touch on specifically and then

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1692-1
Johnnie Martinez: we can talk about any other risk
factors that are worth

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1692-2
Johnnie Martinez: discussing. Is the potential
risk factor of tariffs. And

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1692-3
Johnnie Martinez: that's been kind of the the buzz
word that's been thrown around

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1692-4
Johnnie Martinez: since the election as one.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1719-0
Johnnie Martinez: Of the things that can
potentially limit what's

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1719-1
Johnnie Martinez: happening in the economy as a
whole, but it it transits into

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1719-2
Johnnie Martinez: equipment finance with so much
of our industry having

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1719-3
Johnnie Martinez: international firms.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1730-0
Johnnie Martinez: From where you guys said how
much of A role is that going to

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1730-1
Johnnie Martinez: play?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1743-0
Johnnie Martinez: From how much of A concern
should that be as we start kind

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1743-1
Johnnie Martinez: of forecasting the equipment
finance sector for 2025?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1749-0
Rick Remiker: Well, I think it could be.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1762-0
Rick Remiker: It could be wide-ranging and as
we sit here today on in mid

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1762-1
Rick Remiker: January.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1799-0
Rick Remiker: We don't know what we don't know
and no one does, to be honest,

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1799-1
Rick Remiker: at this point, I think what you
have to be concerned with is not

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1799-2
Rick Remiker: only, you know, the Trump
administration tariffs, that

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1799-3
Rick Remiker: they potentially could impose,
but then what's the cause and

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1799-4
Rick Remiker: effect, what are the?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1809-0
Rick Remiker: Retaliatory tariffs that might
be imposed.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1813-0
Rick Remiker: By an EU country.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1825-0
Rick Remiker: Or another country that could
impact somebody that needs

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1825-1
Rick Remiker: machinery.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1837-0
Rick Remiker: That's manufactured in Germany
or wherever it might be.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1870-0
Rick Remiker: So you know, the one thing that
I think we can be certain of in

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1870-1
Rick Remiker: in the tariff environment is
there will be winners and

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1870-2
Rick Remiker: losers, but it's a bit difficult
to exactly predict who's going

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1870-3
Rick Remiker: to be the winner and who's going
to be the loser at this point.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1872-0
Rick Remiker: In time.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1914-0
Jim Jackson: And and I would say from my
standpoint, Johnny, you know the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1914-1
Jim Jackson: thing to be, you know crystal
clear about and careful of is

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1914-2
Jim Jackson: you know during you know 2020 we
came off a supply chain shortage

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1914-3
Jim Jackson: due to the fact that you know
everyone was homesick with COV.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1928-0
Jim Jackson: And factory workers weren't
working.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1943-0
Jim Jackson: You know, these tariffs could
have a similar impact with

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1943-1
Jim Jackson: supply chain shortages if if
indeed we don't have.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1952-0
Jim Jackson: Companies here in the states
that are building equivalent

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1952-1
Jim Jackson: products.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1996-0
Jim Jackson: Or, you know, it could even be
from a parts perspective that

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1996-1
Jim Jackson: it's more difficult to get parts
and parts are more expensive to

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1996-2
Jim Jackson: maintain existing pieces of
equipment which will obviously

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1996-3
Jim Jackson: impact the industry and impact.
You know our ability to, you

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/1996-4
Jim Jackson: know, hit the higher volumes
through those.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2010-0
Jim Jackson: Equipment finance companies, if,
if the supply chain is again

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2010-1
Jim Jackson: disrupted.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2030-0
Rick Remiker: You know, we touch on it in the
insights report and again, I'd

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2030-1
Rick Remiker: encourage listeners to pull that
report down.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2047-0
Rick Remiker: But the one trend that we can
definitely speak to is there's

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2047-1
Rick Remiker: been for US manufacturers.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2075-0
Rick Remiker: There has been a definite trend
to diversify their supplier

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2075-1
Rick Remiker: base, so they're not dependent
only on China or only on one

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2075-2
Rick Remiker: particular country and then
where possible, and where

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2075-3
Rick Remiker: feasible and practical.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2077-0
Rick Remiker: To bring.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2084-0
Rick Remiker: Some manufacturing back into the
United States.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-0
Rick Remiker: States. So I think you'll see
that continued trend towards re

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-1
Rick Remiker: shoring to the United States
were practical but also

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-2
Rick Remiker: diversifying and not relying
strictly on China and having

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-3
Rick Remiker: manufacturing capabilities in
several countries. So that you

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-4
Rick Remiker: know significant tariffs or
geopolitical activities in a

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2139-5
Rick Remiker: particular country don't create
a.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2145-0
Rick Remiker: Complete shutdown in their
supply chain.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2152-0
Johnnie Martinez: Got you know that makes a ton of
sense.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2187-0
Johnnie Martinez: And you know, as we start
looking at the the rest of the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2187-1
Johnnie Martinez: year, we've talked about kind of
two of the the key challenges I

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2187-2
Johnnie Martinez: would just you know ask is there
is there any other thing that we

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2187-3
Johnnie Martinez: should be watching from a
challenging side and then we?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2196-0
Johnnie Martinez: Can get into some of the the
wider activity in the space.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2211-0
Rick Remiker: Well, I think we've touched a
little bit on trade policy with

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2211-1
Rick Remiker: tariffs.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2253-0
Rick Remiker: We talked briefly about monetary
policy as it relates to interest

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2253-1
Rick Remiker: rates and, you know, uncertainty
around if rates will fall if

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2253-2
Rick Remiker: they fall, how much will they
fall or could rates remain flat

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2253-3
Rick Remiker: or could they rise the other
part of monetary policy to be

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2253-4
Rick Remiker: mindful of is stren.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2276-0
Rick Remiker: Of the US dollar and how that
impacts both imports and

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2276-1
Rick Remiker: exports. And then I think the
third leg of the stool.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2277-0
Rick Remiker: So trade policy.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2303-0
Rick Remiker: Monetary policy. And then I
think we need to be mindful of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2303-1
Rick Remiker: tax policy, probably a net net
positive for most customers, but

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2303-2
Rick Remiker: something to be mindful of
heading into 2025.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2309-0
Johnnie Martinez: Patrick, OK, that makes a ton of
sense.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2347-0
Jim Jackson: I I think the other thing I
would add to that, Rick, if if I

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2347-1
Jim Jackson: could, you know we and not that
they'll have us you know direct

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2347-2
Jim Jackson: impact but but certainly
something to keep an eye on as

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2347-3
Jim Jackson: the geopolitical conflicts that
are going on in the world right.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2358-0
Jim Jackson: Now we, you know, we still have
issues in Europe.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2361-0
Jim Jackson: We still have issues in the
Middle East.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2387-0
Jim Jackson: Who knows what's going to, you
know, take place with Taiwan and

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2387-1
Jim Jackson: China, but you know, certainly
things to consider along the way

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2387-2
Jim Jackson: as these tend to take a little
bit of focus off.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2415-0
Jim Jackson: You know the US economy and and
put it squarely in the rest of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2415-1
Jim Jackson: the world which you know can
obviously impact our ability to

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2415-2
Jim Jackson: continue to do business and and
be successful.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2417-0
Jim Jackson: So something else to consider.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2428-0
Johnnie Martinez: Gotcha. No, that that is also
something that I yeah, I don't

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2428-1
Johnnie Martinez: think it's mentioned enough.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2449-0
Johnnie Martinez: I've heard a lot more mentioned
over the past, maybe six months

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2449-1
Johnnie Martinez: or so that you know, the
geopolitical aspect is something

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2449-2
Johnnie Martinez: that even for the US firms, they
have to account for.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2481-0
Johnnie Martinez: And so I I think you for
mentioning that one other thing

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2481-1
Johnnie Martinez: I want to touch on and this can
be a a positive or a negative.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2481-2
Johnnie Martinez: And I I say it that way, just
because you mentioned as well

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2481-3
Johnnie Martinez: earlier Rick, the the Madison
capital aspect.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2490-0
Johnnie Martinez: One of the things they mentioned
in their.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2525-0
Johnnie Martinez: You know, closing was technology
cost being a factor in their

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2525-1
Johnnie Martinez: survival, ability in the
equipment finance space. With

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2525-2
Johnnie Martinez: that in mind, what is technology
sort of look like especially as

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2525-3
Johnnie Martinez: we start getting into the rest
of this year?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2548-0
Johnnie Martinez: I know AI is kind of the
buzzword, but there's so much

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2548-1
Johnnie Martinez: happening in the technology side
to account for what should we

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2548-2
Johnnie Martinez: look at as it continues to
affect the industry in 2025?

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2566-0
Well, I think that there's a
market shift that's happening

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2566-1
when we're talking about
technology within organizations.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2577-0
The technology team is just not
necessarily a function anymore.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2587-0
It's becoming an integral
strategic partner in delivering.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2590-0
A.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2592-0
Businesses go to market.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2610-0
And value proposition. And So
what we're seeing right now is a

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2610-1
confluence of things. One, a lot
of companies.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2642-0
Now are upgrading their existing
lease systems and see you seeing

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2642-1
a lot of that working on. You're
seeing also a lot of work around

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2642-2
AI and I don't believe that it
is a buzzword.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2666-0
The there is a lot of activity
about bringing AI into companies

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2666-1
and becoming a partner, helping
work get done better, faster,

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2666-2
more efficiently.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2674-0
And I think we're only going to
see that grow as different

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2674-1
forms.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2694-0
Of AI starts to be developed so
Gen. AI was the big thing when

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2694-1
November 2023.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2701-0
Right when that first came out,
ChatGPT.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2740-0
Now people are using those tools
everyday, whether or not they're

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2740-1
crafting letters to a client or
what have you. Now the new part

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2740-2
about AI is a gentic AI, and
this is a gentic AI basically is

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2740-3
artificial intelligence, which
has the ability to make

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2740-4
decisions.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2749-0
And so you're going to see that
start to take off.

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And improve, I believe different
processes around the leasing

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2780-1
cycle as that technology is
deployed and AI is just gonna

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2780-2
build on itself and there's
gonna be a next generation and a

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2780-3
next generation.

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So I think it's very
transformative and the function

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2794-1
in of itself is becoming much
more strategic.

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Rick Remiker: You know, Johnny, I think the
other, the other area that that

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Rick Remiker: scale really becomes a big
factor in is you know you'll see

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2838-2
Rick Remiker: mergers and acquisitions within
the banking space and that's

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Rick Remiker: driven by technology and the
need to spend those technology

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2838-4
Rick Remiker: dollars over a larger customer
base and.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2858-0
Rick Remiker: A larger deposit base, so you
know the regulatory environment

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2858-1
Rick Remiker: is probably ripe for increased
bank mergers and acquisitions

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2858-2
Rick Remiker: and again.

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Rick Remiker: Driven by the need for scale.

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Johnnie Martinez: That's it.

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Johnnie Martinez: I was.

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Johnnie Martinez: I was actually gonna gonna ask
Jim around something similar,

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Johnnie Martinez: you know, with that we're
bringing up, you know, there's

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Johnnie Martinez: gonna be generations of AI
usage.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2896-0
Johnnie Martinez: Is that something that is being
accounted for in the M and a

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2896-1
Johnnie Martinez: space?

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Johnnie Martinez: You know, some companies being
very far along in some companies

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2907-1
Johnnie Martinez: being at very base levels.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2914-0
Johnnie Martinez: Does that change maybe how those
M and a conversations start to

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2914-1
Johnnie Martinez: happen?

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Jim Jackson: Yeah, I haven't seen much of
that yet.

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Jim Jackson: Obviously, AI still in sort of
the the infancy infancy stage.

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Jim Jackson: So you know most of the M and a
activity now continues to focus

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2975-1
Jim Jackson: on what it always has strength
of the management team, the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2975-2
Jim Jackson: profitability of the company,
the ability, the company to grow

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Jim Jackson: their business etcetera,
etcetera.

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Jim Jackson: So I'm sure it's just a matter
of time.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2992-0
Jim Jackson: Obviously the the correct AI
applications will serve not only

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/2992-1
Jim Jackson: to help companies grow their
businesses, but.

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Jim Jackson: Also, do it more efficiently and
more effectively with likely

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Jim Jackson: fewer full time employees.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3014-0
Jim Jackson: And do it more accurately.

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Jim Jackson: So I would imagine that's that's
going to be another leg in the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3028-1
Jim Jackson: stool that people will consider
as we go forward.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3050-0
Jim Jackson: It's just still a bit at the
infancy stage right now, so it's

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3050-1
Jim Jackson: it's it's a consideration, but I
wouldn't say it's a major factor

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3050-2
Jim Jackson: just yet.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3085-0
Johnnie Martinez: Hey, understood. And as we we
sort of get into the end of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3085-1
Johnnie Martinez: this, I know this report is so
comprehensive and touches on so

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3085-2
Johnnie Martinez: many different things that we
could discuss. But I want to be

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3085-3
Johnnie Martinez: valuable with with your time and
obviously the listeners time if

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3085-4
Johnnie Martinez: we could.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3108-0
Johnnie Martinez: Go through and kind of some some
key takeaways, distillation,

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3108-1
Johnnie Martinez: maybe one or two from each of
you of things that you know

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3108-2
Johnnie Martinez: sections in the report.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3122-0
Johnnie Martinez: Key things that you learn while
putting it together that the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3122-1
Johnnie Martinez: reader should be aware of and
you know they can.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3131-0
Johnnie Martinez: They can go in and look at the
the report themselves.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3138-0
Johnnie Martinez: Of them trying to get the the
more macro view of it.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3141-0
Johnnie Martinez: Wait a few would start.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3175-0
Rick Remiker: Well, I would start with, you
know, watch for the continued

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3175-1
Rick Remiker: reemergence of Banks re entering
the space. More than likely with

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3175-2
Rick Remiker: a little more pricing discipline
and probably a little more

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3175-3
Rick Remiker: measured balance sheet growth
focused predominantly on

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3175-4
Rick Remiker: customers.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3193-0
Rick Remiker: So I don't think that it's an
end to the glory days of of

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3193-1
Rick Remiker: independence and captives, but I
think you'll see 2025.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3200-0
Rick Remiker: The banks will come back,
particularly the regional banks

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3200-1
Rick Remiker: will come back.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3204-0
Rick Remiker: Back in a much stronger fashion.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3223-0
Jim Jackson: Yeah, Johnny, I'd say from my
standpoint on the M and a

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3223-1
Jim Jackson: market, you know we're expecting
a strong M and a market.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3229-0
Jim Jackson: I think there's a lot of things
in our favor.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3239-0
Jim Jackson: The caution again is keep an eye
on the interest rates.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3243-0
Jim Jackson: Let's see what the Fed does.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3271-0
Jim Jackson: Let's hope we can continue on
our course to have a soft

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3271-1
Jim Jackson: landing and the interest rates
behave so that we can continue

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3271-2
Jim Jackson: to see some progress in the M
and a front in 25.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3279-0
And I would just throw in one
cautionary note.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3310-0
You know the industry has
benefited from some very strong

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3310-1
credit quality over the last
handful of years and I think

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3310-2
it's just time now where we're
starting to see potentially some

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3310-3
stress on portfolio.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3314-0
So keep a watchful eye.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3336-0
We're not concerned that there's
going to be any big credit

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3336-1
crunch or crisis out there, but
just start to just start to pay

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3336-2
a little more attention on the
credit book.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3346-0
Johnnie Martinez: Caviano that that all makes a
bunch of sense.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3359-0
Johnnie Martinez: And you have so much of it is,
you know, you can do the due

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3359-1
Johnnie Martinez: diligence on the front end.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3362-0
Johnnie Martinez: It's less problems on the back
end.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3366-0
Rick Remiker: Absolutely.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3365-0
There you go.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3398-0
Johnnie Martinez: Alright. Well, with that all in
mind, I would just say if is

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3398-1
Johnnie Martinez: there anything else that our
listeners should know about the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3398-2
Johnnie Martinez: report or the Alta group and
then obviously they can read the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3398-3
Johnnie Martinez: the reporting itself and but
anything else in particular that

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3398-4
Johnnie Martinez: stands out that we should.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3401-0
Johnnie Martinez: Discuss at this moment.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3421-0
Rick Remiker: Again, go to thealtagroup.com
and pull down the 2025 Alta

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3421-1
Rick Remiker: Group Insights report.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3426-0
Rick Remiker: I think it'll be a excellent
5-10 minute read.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3434-0
Johnnie Martinez: Alright, well, I thank all three
of you for Jim.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3441-0
Johnnie Martinez: Are you gonna add something?
Sorry.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3470-0
Jim Jackson: No, I was just going to also say
and once once you go to the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3446-0
Johnnie Martinez: Hmm.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3470-1
Jim Jackson: website and pull down the report
and read it, obviously if you

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3470-2
Jim Jackson: have questions about the report,
you know, I'd encourage

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3470-3
Jim Jackson: everyone. Our contact
information is out on the

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3470-4
Jim Jackson: website.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3479-0
Jim Jackson: Feel free to call Valerie or
Rick or myself.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3500-0
Jim Jackson: We'll be happy to explain
anything that maybe isn't quite

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3500-1
Jim Jackson: clear or expand on any of the
discussion items in there as as

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3500-2
Jim Jackson: the reader would see fit.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3502-0
Jim Jackson: So we're happy to help.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3518-0
And Johnnie thanks for having
us. As your guests on the dig.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3525-0
We really appreciate the
opportunity to connect with you

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3525-1
and your listeners.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3529-0
Johnnie Martinez: Of course.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3536-0
Johnnie Martinez: Yes, I appreciate having all
three of you on.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3541-0
Johnnie Martinez: I thank you so much for your
time today.

2f8b3a32-f44d-4180-9d33-060c94098203/3545-0
Rick Remiker: Thank you.