Over 140 attendees representing 73 marine finance and related marine industry businesses gathered Sept. 22-24 for another successful conference hosted by the National Marine Lenders Association (NMLA).
The two-day agenda drew prominent speakers from inside and outside both the finance and marine industries. The educational conference featured a comprehensive line-up that addressed valuable content including industry trends, current economic conditions, inventory updates, identity theft, cybercrime, data breaches and risk management. Show hosts discussed the importance of pre-purchase marine surveys, delinquency trends and collection practices, and a national legislative briefing.
The lending community of banks, credit unions and service company lenders accounted for 67% of attendees at the event. NMLA associate members, an important component of NMLA’s membership base, made up the balance. Associate member partners include documentation and titling firms, recovery agents, insurers, surveyors, attorneys, consultants, software companies and valuation businesses.
“It was our pleasure to welcome Michele Goldsmith, vice president and general manager of the Soundings Trade Only Group, to kick off our event as a keynote first-time speaker,” said Noelle Norvell, NMLA president. “Michele is a pioneer in presenting our industry with groundbreaking initiatives that speak to all our communities.”
An update on dealer inventory trends, concerns and bright spots was provided by Russell Baqir, senior vice president of business development for Northpoint Commercial Finance. Robert Siciliano, CEO of Safr.Me, spoke to the latest trends in the areas of information security, social media, business and personal security. Expanded breakout sessions were packed covering marine portfolio loss mitigation (Stuart Best, Weltman, Weinberg & Reis), effective risk management procedures in the new world of imperfect information (Geoff Kreller, Cornerstone Compliance) and navigating marine surveys (Lloyd Griffin, National Association of Marine Surveyors). The event was rounded out with the experienced industry speakers: Gina Martin Adams, economist with Bloomberg Intelligence, Matt Gruhn, president of the MRAA, and Don Parkhurst, NMLA legislative committee chair and senior vice president at M&T Bank.
“Our annual marine lenders conference continues to promote solid networking each year, and we are grateful to our members and industry supporters for their ongoing participation which keeps our industry growing,” said Norvell.
The conference is just one major event produced for NMLA members and the marine finance industry. Next up on the NMLA calendar is the Annual Marine Lending Workshop (March 2-4, 2025, in Orlando, Florida), a two-day interactive program offering attendees the opportunity to increase their knowledge base with experts possessing over 200-plus years of combined marine experience.
