Risk Management Blog

Equipment finance or leasing is a lending type that specializes in lending on specific collateral. Equipment finance companies can vary greatly and tend to specialize in specific industries and often tend to be manufacturers (farm equipment, medical and dental equipment, freight, industrial equipment, etc.). With this being said, there are options such as buying used equipment instead of having to take them out on finance. Especially if… >> READ MORE

Don’t Over-Search One of the simplest ways to keep lien searching costs down is to be careful not to over-search. Note, First Corporate Solutions is not suggesting that you eliminate critical searches from your prefunding routine. What we mean is, be mindful to limit the searches you perform to only those that are necessary in order to evaluate risk and determine position. Many times people are unsure about what to order and they are… >> READ MORE

Over the last few weeks, we’ve blogged about the solar installation boom and the options available to solar financiers to perfect a security interest on their solar panel installations. The filing of fixtures is one such option and utilized actively when perfecting residential solar panel installs. For fixture filings, a legal description of the property is needed on the financing statement to disclose where the fixture is to be. Fixture… >> READ MORE

According to Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a UCC Financing Statement is only effective if it gets the debtor name right. A UCC filing that fails to properly identify the debtor by their exact legal name will not offer the secured party priority status to collect should the debtor default or file for bankruptcy. Searchers often mistakenly interpret this to mean they only need be concerned with filings that provide an exact… >> READ MORE

On occasion questions come from the escrow community on certain situations that escrow agents find themselves in, involving the transfer of business assets and navigating through the CA UCC Code, under Division 6, Bulk Sale. The questions come in various forms, typically involving a business asset sale and transfer through escrow.  The transactions can involve business assets only or business assets with a Liquor License, but the scenario… >> READ MORE

In a word, no. The emergence of API for UCC with its increased efficiency and enhanced compliance capability has already occurred and the implementation is spreading. UCC data and portfolio management providers have moved quickly to develop API for UCC and it is now another technology driven differentiator added to their UCC due diligence packages. Much like how UCC portfolio managers and search engines vary in effectiveness and… >> READ MORE

Conscientious searchers know that an exhaustive pre-funding due diligence investigation will include a search of court records for civil litigation involving their prospect. Not being attorneys however, many are unsure of what to order or what information they will need to provide to get the ball rolling. In addition to the search name, there are five basic pieces of information you will need to supply in order to secure a relevant and… >> READ MORE

The Uniform Commercial Code contains many terms and phrases that are esoteric to the commercial lending industry—they have a very specific meaning within the code. The definition can be crucial to your due diligence efforts, so it’s important to know the difference. One instance we’ve come across is the difference between an “active UCC filing” and an “effective UCC filing,” which can have an affect on your due diligence.… >> READ MORE

Searching the correct party and correct legal name is imperative when coordinating due diligence search efforts. It is important to search all names under which liens could be filed. This may seem simple and obvious, but keep in mind that liens, particularly involuntary liens like federal tax liens and judgment liens, could be filed under business names, individual names, aliases, nicknames, or even fictitious business names. So,… >> READ MORE

Your growing UCC portfolio is a sign of your success. To support it, perhaps it’s time to consider upgrading your UCC Portfolio Manager by installing an API for UCC, an enhancement that consolidates your UCC management into one single system. Designed specifically to streamline and simplify your UCC processes and scale with your success, API for UCC gives you the power to manage your growing UCC portfolio efficiently while freeing you… >> READ MORE