Asset-Based Lending Advisory
We Structure and Place Deals
With Lenders Who Say Yes.
Your deal gets one shot with a credit committee. Don Clarke — SFNet Hall of Fame inductee, author of the industry's first textbook, and advisor who's trained 5,000+ lending professionals — makes sure it's structured right, packaged to underwriting standards, and placed with lenders who have appetite. 24-to-48-hour deal review. No brokers. No mass distribution. Just execution.
Have a deal? Let's take a look.
Send us the basics — industry, collateral, facility size. We'll give you an honest assessment within 24 hours. No cost. No obligation. If there's a deal here, we'll tell you exactly how to get it done.
Representative Transactions
Deals We've Structured and Placed
Anonymized examples from our recent deal flow. Every transaction below was sourced, structured, and placed by DCE.
$12M Asset-Based Facility
$3.5M Factoring Line
$8M ABL Facility
$5M Working Capital Line
$15M Acquisition Facility
$2.5M Equipment Line
Deal Spotlight
Inside a DCE Credit Package
This is how Don Clarke presents a deal to a lender's credit committee — drawing on 40+ years of lender-side underwriting experience. Structured. Clear. Decision-ready.
Structure Notes
Borrower refinancing out of incumbent bank that was reducing commitment. Don Clarke personally identified three ABL-specific lenders with appetite for manufacturing collateral — leveraging relationships built over four decades. Deal packaged with 12-month financial projections, borrowing base certificate template, and field exam scope. Closed in 45 days with competitive terms.
Lender Perspective
How Lenders Evaluate Your Deal
Credit committees look at four things. If any one fails, the deal doesn't move. Don Clarke literally wrote the book on this — Asset Based Lending Disciplines, the industry's first ABL textbook. We make sure all four are covered before your deal hits a lender's desk.
The Hard Truth
Why Deals Get Declined
Most deals don't fail because of the business. They fail because of how they were presented. Don Clarke has seen thousands of deals from both sides of the table — as a lender, an advisor, and the educator who trained credit teams at GE, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, and Lloyds.
Poor Structure
Advance rates that don't match the collateral. Covenants that don't fit the business. Pricing that's out of market. Lenders see this and walk.
Weak Presentation
Incomplete financials. No borrowing base. No projections. No narrative. When a deal lands on a credit analyst's desk half-baked, it goes to the bottom of the pile.
Wrong Lender Fit
Sending a turnaround deal to a bank. Sending a $2M deal to a lender with a $10M floor. The fastest way to kill a deal is putting it in front of the wrong audience.
We Solve All Three.
Structure. Presentation. Lender targeting. Don Clarke has been doing this since 1986, earned SFNet's Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named an ABF Journal "Legend Icon." That's not a pitch — it's a track record. And it's why our deals close.
For Capital Providers
Lenders & Referral Partners
We bring you pre-vetted, structured deal flow — not raw leads. Every package is credit-committee ready.
Pre-Screened Deal Flow
Every deal has been evaluated for collateral quality, borrower viability, and structural fit before it reaches you. No tire-kickers.
Structured Packages
Complete credit packages with financials, borrowing base analysis, collateral summaries, and field exam scopes. Ready for committee.
Referral Partners
Attorneys, CPAs, turnaround advisors — leverage our 60+ lender network for your clients. We handle structuring, placement, and close.
What We Execute
Loan Placement. Deal Packaging. Underwriting Support.
We don't consult. We execute. Don Clarke built this firm on one principle: lenders fund deals that are structured correctly. With 40+ years on the lender side and a network spanning 60+ capital providers, we structure it, package it, place it, and close it.
Execution Process
From Submission to Funded. No Wasted Steps.
Submit Your Deal
Send us the basics. Industry, collateral, revenue, facility size. We review and respond within 24 hours. If there's a deal, we tell you exactly what the path looks like.
Structure & Package
We build the borrowing base, structure the facility, prepare financials and projections. The package that hits a lender's desk looks like it came from inside their own credit department.
Targeted Placement
No mass distribution. We identify 3-5 lenders with specific appetite for your deal profile, collateral type, and industry. Each one gets a tailored presentation.
Close & Fund
We manage the process through term sheet negotiation, due diligence, and closing. Average time from submission to funded: 30–60 days.
The Man Behind DCE
Donald F. Clarke
SFNet Hall of Fame · Lifetime Achievement Award · ABF Journal Legend Icon
Don Clarke doesn't just advise on asset-based lending — he defined it. He authored Asset Based Lending Disciplines, the first textbook ever written on ABL, published in 2005 and still used as the industry standard. He has personally trained over 5,000 lending professionals at institutions including GE Capital, JP Morgan Chase, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, and Bank of Ireland.
In 2021, SFNet inducted Don into its Hall of Fame and awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award — recognizing four decades of contributions to the secured finance industry. He received the Harry H. Chen Memorial Award of Excellence in 2019 and was named an ABF Journal "Legend Icon" in 2021 and "2025 Innovator."
As President of Asset Based Lending Consultants (ABLC) since 1986 — with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Miami — Don's firm assists banks on loans aggregating $5–8 billion annually. He served as SFNet's Senior Instructor and Educational Chairman (2020–2022) and founded the Asset Based Lending Institute (ABLI) in 2022, a Qualifi Approved Learning Center. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal and is recognized as one of the foremost authorities in secured lending worldwide.
When you submit a deal to DCE, Don Clarke personally reviews it. That's not a marketing line — it's how we operate.
ABF Journal Innovator
Named among the industry's top innovators for advancing ABL education and deal execution.
SFNet Hall of Fame
Inducted into the Secured Finance Network Hall of Fame — the industry's highest honor.
Lifetime Achievement Award
SFNet Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing four decades of service to the secured lending industry.
ABF Journal Legend Icon
Recognized by ABF Journal as one of the defining figures in asset-based lending.
Harry H. Chen Award
Awarded the Harry H. Chen Memorial Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to ABL.
First ABL Textbook
Published "Asset Based Lending Disciplines" — the first textbook ever written on ABL.
Submit Your Deal
Let's See What You've Got.
Provide the basics and we'll give you a direct, honest assessment within 24 hours. If your deal has legs, we'll tell you exactly how to get it funded.
- 24-hour response — we don't sit on deals
- 100% confidential — your information stays locked
- No cost, no obligation — honest assessment first
- Targeted placement — not mass distribution
- Don Clarke — SFNet Hall of Fame, 40+ years of lender-side experience