NEWS
Lease deferral interest growing in pandemic-weakened economy
INDIANAPOLIS (May 22, 2020) – Equipment finance companies are experiencing a rise in lease contract deferrals as their customers request payment relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JDR Solutions Inc. handled multiple contract modifications for its lessor clients in April, the first full month of pandemic-influenced markets. The trend is continuing in May.
Every lessor’s deferral activity is different, but among JDR clients payment extensions are running from about 3.5 percent to 14 percent of their portfolios. One client reported they had never received a deferral request before the pandemic.
JDR manages more than 60,000 contracts for banks, captives and independent financial institutions. The contracts represent 1.2 million assets ranging from office machines to rail cars to corporate jets.
“Many people have lost their jobs during this coronavirus pandemic and are unable to make their monthly lease payments,” said John Schaffner, JDR Vice President and Board of Directors Chairman. “They are asking lenders if they can delay payments. Lenders are working with them on partial or full payment deferrals, which our portfolio administrators then adjust in those accounts.”
A typical deferral is three months on a standard 36- or 60-month lease contract, although some deferrals can be longer, Schaffner said. That means a borrower makes a partial payment, or no payment at all, during the deferral period. The interest rate on the adjusted loan can go up or down, but often stays the same.
Lessors prefer deferrals to repossessions, to avoid possible revenue loss and being saddled with used equipment, Schaffner said.
“They’re thinking, ‘What is our best option to get repaid?” he said. “Negotiations take place between the lender and borrower. It’s done on a case-by-case basis.”
Once the new payment terms are finalized, the account is updated to reflect the changes. In most cases JDR’s portfolio administrators can make the necessary changes to a payment schedule within 30 minutes.
In addition to comprehensive portfolio management and back office services, JDR Solutions offers consulting, hosting and customer service/collections, and builds customer- and sales staff-centric web portals. It serves clients in North America and the United Kingdom.
JDR Solutions clients’ managed assets soar to record level
INDIANAPOLIS (March 19, 2020) – JDR Solutions Inc. manages a record $13.36 billion in net assets for its lease finance clients, a 63 percent increase over fourth quarter 2019. It marks the first time JDR’s client portfolio surpassed $10 billion in asset value.
“Business is thriving for our customers, and these asset numbers are proof,” said Doug Williams, JDR’s President and Chief Information Officer. “We work hard to take care of our customers, and are thrilled to play a role in their success.”
JDR manages nearly 1.2 million individual client assets, representing just over 60,000 contracts. Those assets range from business machines to rail cars to corporate jets to farm machinery to heavy duty equipment, and more.
JDR’s expanded service offerings, including its move to a “software agnostic” business model this year, contributed to the higher asset numbers.
“In January we made a major change in our business model, whereby we now are able to service any software package a lessor chooses to use,” Williams said. “We’re getting a lot of positive response from both customers and prospective customers about this shift in how we do business.”
JDR Solutions offers comprehensive back office portfolio management, consulting, hosting and customer service/collections, as well as building customer- and sales staff-centric web portals. Its clients include banks, captives and independent financial institutions in North America and the United Kingdom.
JDR Solutions adopts ‘software agnostic’ service model
INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 6, 2020) – Equipment lessors have many software choices for handling lease originations and portfolio management. Now, no matter which software package they select, JDR Solutions can provide back office service.
“We’ve become what is commonly known in the industry as ‘software agnostic,’” said Doug Williams, JDR’s president and chief information officer. “This marks a major shift in our business model, and positions us to serve any lessor regardless of the application they are running.”
Up to this point JDR was an exclusive service provider for one platform.
The change comes as the software market continues to diversify and products are introduced or improved.
At the end of 2019 there were more than 20 software programs designed to assist in originations, portfolio management, collections, accounting, tax compliance and other functions, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s “2019 Software Guide.” Some applications handle specific tasks, while others cover the entire lease/loan life cycle.
“We’re pursuing partnerships with software companies in the industry that either don’t offer back office support for their products, or whose customers would rather receive that support from a third party provider like us,” Williams said.
That support could come in various forms. For example, JDR could migrate a client from one software platform to another, host software a client is already using, or even allow a client to piggyback on JDR’s software license if the client prefers not to acquire a full license themselves.
“In the end everybody benefits,” Williams said. “The software company gets to focus its attention on developing products, we provide the service after the sale and the lessor receives a turn-key package of software and back office support.”
Established in 2001, Indianapolis-based JDR Solutions offers comprehensive front end and back office portfolio management service, consulting, infrastructure as a service and customer service/collections, and builds customer- and sales staff-centric custom web portals. Clients include banks, manufacturer captives and independent finance companies in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
JDR Solutions founder and industry leader retiring
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 23, 2019) – A longtime equipment finance veteran and founding partner of JDR Solutions Inc. is retiring.
Richard V. Lewis, the “R” in “JDR,” will bring a nearly 40-year technology, banking and equipment lease management career to a close on December 31. As JDR’s vice president of business integration, Lewis was instrumental in growing the consulting and portfolio management services company from a handful of employees to more than 30 full- and part-time staff, with annual revenues of $5 million.
Lewis also represented service providers like JDR as a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Business Council Steering Committee.
“To say Richard has been an integral part of JDR’s success would be an understatement,” said Doug Williams, JDR’s president/chief information officer, and the “D” in JDR. “Without his vision and contributions we would not be where we are today.”
A Frankfort, Ind., native and Purdue University graduate, Lewis attained the rank of captain in the U.S. Army. Following his honorable discharge in 1982 he held various
executive level positions in Indiana, Texas, Florida and New Jersey with then-Merchants National Bank, Circle Business Credit, Newcourt Financial and CIT. Lewis led project teams that launched Dell Financial Services and Agilent Financial Services, and the build out of CIT’s Asia Shared Services Center in Shanghai, China.
When CIT closed its Indianapolis office and approached Lewis, Williams and John Schaffner about relocating to a new office in New Jersey, they decided to go into business for themselves. With the backing of silent partner Bill Johnson, the three men founded IntegraLease LLC, the forerunner of JDR Solutions, in 2001.
Lewis has been responsible for designing and managing the onboarding of new JDR clients, planning work projects for existing clients and overseeing company policies, procedures and risk management. JDR provides a range of front end and back office services to dozens of banks, manufacturer captives and independent financial institutions in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, using multiple software platforms.
JDR colleagues and clients described Lewis as a skilled project manager who took a personal interest in the people he worked with.
“Richard is more than just a JDR founder and senior manager; he is also a trusted colleague and friend,” said Schaffner, JDR’s vice president and board chairman, and the “J” in the company name. “We are all better for having known and worked with him.”
Paul Cortellini, a retired senior vice president of Motorola Solutions, worked alongside Lewis at Newcourt. The business relationship lived on after each left Newcourt for new career opportunities.
“Richard and I negotiated with JDR to manage Motorola’s (lease software) environment, a relationship that continues today. We continued to work together until I retired in 2011,” Cortellini said. “The implementation we performed at the Motorola office near Shanghai is a memorable encounter that will stay with me the rest of my life.”
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Richard,” said Terra Watkins, assistant vice president and controller for Farm Credit Services Mid-America in Louisville, Ky. “He’s always been pleasant and helpful.”
Although he’s retiring, Lewis said he’ll remain active.
“I’ll do some fishing, work part time in a friend’s rare coin and precious metal business, and mostly spend quality time with my wife and family,” he said.
On January 1, Panfilo “Benny” Federico takes the reins of JDR’s business integration activities. Federico joined JDR as program management office director in September.
Federico joins JDR Solutions as Program Management Office Director
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 25, 2019) – JDR Solutions Inc., a provider of equipment lease finance support services and infrastructure, has named Benny Federico its Program Management Office Director.
Federico, 55, whose given name is Panfilo Federico, will lead JDR’s new client integration and project management. He will replace Richard Lewis, Vice President of Business Integration and a JDR founding partner. Lewis is transitioning to full retirement, expected late this year.
“Benny brings a wealth of business and management experience to JDR. We are excited to have him on board,” said Doug Williams, JDR President and Chief Information Officer. “Richard Lewis leaves big shoes to fill, but we are confident Benny is up to the task.”
Federico was born in Vallelarga, Italy, and moved to Boston, Mass., at age 12. After graduating from Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, he worked in nuclear energy and later commercial vehicles. Federico and his wife Nancy owned farmland in Kentucky, where they and their children raised cattle, chickens, goats, sheep and rabbits.
Federico moved to Indianapolis earlier this year and was employed at Dana Inc. before joining JDR.
In addition to his undergraduate degrees Federico earned a doctoral degree in management from the University of Phoenix.
Benny and Nancy Federico have five children and four grandchildren.
“I’m excited to be joining the JDR team and look forward to this new opportunity,” Federico said.
JDR Solutions offers front end/back office portfolio management services, consulting, software as a service and customer service/collections, and builds custom web portals. Its clients include banks, manufacturer captives and independent finance companies in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
Learn about customer, sales web portals at ELFA conference
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 9, 2019) — Self-serve technology is everywhere, and it’s gaining traction in equipment finance, as well.
One do-it-yourself tool is the web portal. A portal is a web page within a lease/loan company website that allows customers to transact business with the lessor, and the lessor’s sales staff or dealer network to interact with customers.
How portals work and why lessors should consider adding one or more to their existing online presence is the main emphasis of the JDR Solutions, Inc., trade show exhibit at the Equipment Finance and Leasing Association’s Operations & Technology Conference.
The conference takes place Sept. 16-18 at Hilton Chicago in downtown Chicago, Illinois. More than 200 senior IT executives and personnel are expected to attend the annual event, which focuses on technology tools and practices to improve operational effectiveness and customer service.
The equipment finance industry has been slow to adopt portals but is quickly catching up with other industries, said Doug Williams, JDR president and chief information officer.
“We’ve designed and built portals for years but it was always a niche market for us,” Williams said. “In the last few years portals have become almost as integral to our business as the portfolio administration services we offer.”
In customer-dedicated portals lessees can apply for credit, view existing lease contracts, check invoice histories, make payments, and more. Sales and dealer network-dedicated portals allow personnel to peruse customer information and lease contracts, post payments, generate invoices and create buyouts, among other things.
“Our clients tell us portals greatly enhance the customer service experience and deliver operational efficiencies through savings of time and money,” Williams said.
At the JDR Solutions exhibit conference goers can see a mini-portal demo and discuss the technology with a JDR portal developer.
Longtime JDR Solutions customer service specialist retires
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 18, 2018) — After thousands of customer service interactions and written notifications, a JDR Solutions employee is writing the final chapter in his lengthy career.
Dan Dorsey, a customer service and collections specialist, will retire at month’s end, following 17 years of service with JDR. Dorsey started at JDR in January 2002, two months after the company was founded.
“Dan is one of our longest-tenured employees. He’s seen JDR grow from a handful of employees with only a few clients, to one with 35 employees and more than 30 clients,” said John Schaffner, JDR president. “His commitment and hard work has been instrumental in JDR becoming the foremost service provider within the equipment leasing industry.”
Dorsey handles a variety of tasks, including collections, UCC filings, sales and user tax returns and written communications to end-users and customers in support of JDR clients. Before joining JDR, Dorsey served 32 years in auditing, credit, collections, customer service, training and market research positions at banks and finance companies in the Indianapolis area. He also was a licensed high school basketball and football official.
Dorsey received a bachelor’s degree in economics and management from the University of Dayton in 1970.
“I appreciate the opportunities provided to me by JDR Solutions, and am confident of its continued success in the future,” Dorsey said.
JDR Solutions offers front end and back office portfolio and database management services and consulting, software as a service and custom web portal design and development. Its customers include banks, manufacturer captives and independent finance companies in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
Williams elected to trade association steering committee
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 2, 2018) — Douglas R. Williams, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of JDR Solutions Inc., has been elected to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Business Council Steering Committee.
Williams will serve a two-year term on the council’s service providers subcommittee, which represents companies like JDR Solutions that provide support services to equipment finance firms.
“I’m honored to have been selected by my peers to serve on the steering committee,” Williams said. “The committee plays an important advisory role to the ELFA.”
The ELFA is the leading trade association representing companies in the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. Its nearly 600 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers, investment banks and vendors.
Williams and three others founded JDR in 2001. He leads a staff of database administrators and IT professionals, and is responsible for JDR’s technology maintenance and data security. Williams has created IT infrastructure, e-commerce websites and international application service provider solutions. He studied agricultural business and music at Vincennes University.
JDR Solutions offers services ranging from lease portfolio management and database administration to hosting, software and custom web portal development, among others. It employs 35 full- and part-time contract workers at its Indianapolis headquarters, Toronto, Ontario, field office and Minnesota, Montana and Ohio. JDR’s clients include banks, manufacturer captives and independent financial institutions, representing more than $8.2 billion under management.
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