Asset-Based Lending Advisory · Loan Placement Consultants
Independent ABL Advisors.
We Help Borrowers Get to a Credit-Committee-Ready Package.
Don Clarke Enterprises is an independent asset-based lending advisory and loan placement consulting firm. We are not a lender, broker, or financial institution. Don Clarke — SFNet Hall of Fame inductee, author of the industry's first ABL textbook, and educator who has trained 5,000+ lending professionals — works alongside borrowers to structure the deal, prepare the package to underwriting standards, and introduce it to lenders whose stated credit appetite matches the profile. 24-to-48-hour deal review. Outcomes depend on the lender.
Have a deal? Let's take a look.
Send us the basics — industry, collateral, facility size. We'll give you an honest advisory assessment within 24 hours. No cost. No obligation. If we see a path forward, we'll walk you through what credit committees will be looking for. Approval and funding decisions are made solely by lenders.
Lender Perspective
How Lenders Evaluate Your Deal
Credit committees look at four things. If any one is weak, the deal stalls. Don Clarke literally wrote the book on this — Asset Based Lending Disciplines, the industry's first ABL textbook. As your advisor, we work with you to address all four before your package is introduced to lenders.
The Hard Truth
Why Deals Get Declined
Most deals don't stall because of the business. They stall 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 pass.
Weak Presentation
Incomplete financials. No borrowing base. No projections. No narrative. When a package 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 stall a deal is putting it in front of the wrong audience.
We Advise on All Three.
Structure. Presentation. Lender targeting. Don Clarke has been advising on ABL 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. Final credit decisions remain with the lender.
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 — introduce your clients to an independent ABL advisor with 60+ lender relationships. We provide structuring guidance, package preparation, and lender introductions.
Advisory Services
Loan Placement Consulting. Deal Packaging. Underwriting Advisory.
We are advisors and loan placement consultants — not a lender, broker, or financial institution. We do not originate, underwrite, fund, approve, or close loans. Lenders do. Don Clarke built this firm on one principle: lenders fund deals that are structured correctly. With 40+ years on the lender side and 60+ active lender relationships, we help borrowers structure the deal, prepare the package, identify lenders whose credit appetite matches the profile, and support the borrower through closing.
The capital types below are ABL facility categories our advisory engagements typically address. They are not loan products offered by Don Clarke Enterprises.
Advisory Process
From Submission to Lender Decision. No Wasted Steps.
Submit Your Deal
Send us the basics. Industry, collateral, revenue, facility size. We review and respond within 24 hours. If we see a path, we explain what credit committees will be looking for.
Structure & Package
We help you build a borrowing base analysis, think through facility structure, and prepare financials and projections. The goal: a package that reads to a credit analyst the way they expect.
Targeted Lender Introductions
No mass distribution. We identify 3-5 lenders whose stated credit appetite matches your deal profile, collateral type, and industry, and introduce you to them. We do not solicit, broker, or receive transaction-based compensation from lenders.
Closing Support
We support the borrower through term-sheet review, due diligence, and closing. Approval, underwriting, and funding decisions are made solely by the lender. Typical timing from submission to a lender decision: 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 has spent four decades educating the lender community that underwrites it. He authored Asset Based Lending Disciplines, the first textbook ever written on ABL, published in 2005 and still used as an industry reference. 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 advisory assessment within 24 hours. If we see a path forward, we'll walk you through it. Approval and funding decisions are made solely by lenders.
- 24-hour response — we don't sit on deals
- 100% confidential — your information stays locked
- No cost, no obligation — honest assessment first
- Targeted lender introductions — not mass distribution
- Don Clarke — SFNet Hall of Fame, 40+ years of lender-side experience
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