At a Glance
- A Secured Research study of 220 middle market borrowers found that 41% could not name their current equipment finance provider’s parent company or differentiate it from competitors when asked.
- Most middle market firms rely almost entirely on relationship-driven origination, which works until key originators leave, retire, or hit capacity—and the firm discovers it has no brand equity to sustain deal flow independently.
- The firms generating consistent inbound inquiries from CFOs and treasurers have invested in narrow, defensible positioning around specific industries or transaction structures rather than broad capability claims.
- Brand building in middle market equipment finance is not a marketing expense. It is an origination insurance policy that reduces dependency on individual producers.
The Anonymity Problem Is Worse Than You Think
Ask a middle market CFO to name three equipment finance providers and you will hear the same large banks and captives. Independent and bank-owned middle market platforms—firms doing $500 million to $3 billion in annual originations—almost never make the list. This is not a trivial branding inconvenience. It is a structural origination risk.
Secured Research studied 220 middle market borrowers and found that 41% could not name their current equipment finance provider’s parent company or differentiate it from competitors. These are active customers with funded transactions—and they cannot remember who lent them the money.
