Tiger Group, which specializes in a variety of asset dispositions and commercial valuations, has expanded its offering for asset-based lenders by hiring two industry veterans with decades of combined experience in field examinations and related services, according to a press release.
Joining Tiger as senior managing directors are veteran field examiners Katherine Houser-Rodriguez and Stephen Savage, both of whom previously worked for one of the country's largest asset-based lenders, Wells Fargo.
The move strengthens Tiger's Valuation Services division regarding ABLs in need of field exams, monitoring, new loan surveys, specialized procedures, inventory test counts, and more.
"By combining appraisal and field-exam services, Tiger is giving borrowers and lenders alike a more seamless and holistic experience," Ryan Davis, executive managing director, Tiger Valuation Services, said in the release.
Houser-Rodriguez brings to the position years of diverse experience in structured finance, commercial finance, commercial banking, due diligence, regulatory/compliance matters, and cash-flow lending. Most recently, she was partner of Infinity ABL Services, co-leading a team of quality third-party field examiners.
Prior to that, Houser-Rodriguez was the National Field Exam manager for the commercial bank within Wells Fargo, where she managed a team of 50 collateral examiners, management, and administrative staff. She has completed multiple professional training courses through the CFA-Field Examiner School and CFA-Inventory Finance Workshop.
Savage has held various field exam-related management positions throughout his career in the asset-based and middle-market banking sector, with extensive collateral experience through performing field examinations and managing these teams. Prior to co-founding Infinity ABL Services, he served as the National Field Exam manager for Wells Fargo Capital Finance. Savage’s experience includes overseeing hundreds of internal field examiners, management, as well as the outsource function of approximately 50 contract firms.
"For more than a decade, members of Tiger's valuation division have worked on a number of projects with Kat and Steve, with a number of common customers, and have always been impressed by their knowledge, drive, professionalism and attention to detail," Bill Mayer, executive managing director, Tiger Group, said. "Kat has experience in virtually every industry and segment of asset-based lending and is a deep subject matter expert with respect to field examinations and collateral. Steve brings broad experience and an unrelenting focus to everything he does, from field examinations, to logistics and technology."
The benefits of one firm providing exam and appraisal services are many, Davis noted.
"Lenders interact with a single company for simplified communications and efficiency," he said. "For borrowers, it means avoiding time-consuming duplication of data requests, interviews, tours, test counts and the like, as can happen when the appraisal and field-exam teams are separate. Joint access to Tiger's robust data analytics platform and internal team of ‘quants’ also provides accretive benefits at a time when market shifts are spurring reassessments of borrower health and collateral value.
"Both field examinations and appraisals have been trending toward the analytics-based approaches that have been a major focus for Tiger over the past several years," Davis added.