With nearly 30 years of experience in asset-based lending, Stewart Hayes has enjoyed a rich history of helping to build Wells Fargo’s lender finance unit and financing companies that have flourished in the industry. He shared his significant career experience and outlook on the industry with ABF Journal.

Stewart Hayes spent 15 years of his career in asset-based lending before he was introduced to lender finance. He began at a predecessor bank of Bank of America and switched between various roles within his first 10 years with the bank. He was a field examiner for a year, became a portfolio account executive and then a portfolio manager before ending those 10 years in new business development. He then spent two years at CIT as a regional credit manager before returning to Bank of America, where he served in an executive management role for the bank’s asset-based lending business in Dallas and then its factoring division before the unit was sold. After the sale, Hayes encountered many opportunities, including some in the traditional asset-based lending arena as well as the opportunity to join Wells Fargo in the startup lender finance space.

“Almost everybody that I talked to, from a consultation standpoint, was cautious about my decision to join a new lender finance business. At that time, most banks did not lend to other lenders, so many people didn’t really understand it and viewed it as risky,” Hayes says. “I actually looked at it as a challenging space, a new space, something different than I’d done before, and, frankly, something that I was able to add value to because I’d been a 20-plus-year asset-based lender.”

While it was a risky step in his career, Hayes is grateful he took it.

“It’s been a lot of fun. Our group has been well-supported. We’ve grown, been very successful and have been a leader in this space. It’s been a very challenging, fulfilling venture. I love what I do representing Wells Fargo and haven’t had a reason to do anything else,” Hayes says.

Leading With Passion

As a leader and a lender, Hayes strives to treat people right and stick to his word. He tries to be direct, fair, responsive and helpful. In his approach to client relationships, Hayes does his best to truly understand his customer and evaluate how Wells Fargo can best help them.

“From a business standpoint, I try really hard to listen to what’s important to the client,” Hayes says. “I’ll always strive to understand what their needs and priorities are.”

In his approach to leadership, Hayes is passionate about doing what he expects or wishes to see others do. He is happy to roll up his sleeves and work as hard as anyone on his team, and he doesn’t worry about who gets credit for a project. He attributes much of his success to his talented team, as well as the support he receives from the overall Wells Fargo organization.

“Our team is 100% focused on just lending to finance companies, and that does distinguish us from most people out there that we compete with,” Hayes says.

Changing An Industry

Since Hayes’ early days, the ABL industry has grown in terms of size, technology and diversity. Generally, when Hayes started at Wells Fargo Capital Finance (back when it was Wells Fargo Foothill), banks did not lend to non-banks, making Wells Fargo’s lender finance group one of the only bank divisions willing to offer the service. The lender finance business is much more widely accepted today and is continuing to evolve. The same can be said about the demographics of asset-based lending.

“If you look at the leadership of the industry now, it’s increasingly becoming more diverse from an age standpoint as well as from a gender standpoint,” Hayes says.

Hayes points to the work of the Secured Finance Network as a driver of this change. Hayes has served on the organization’s executive committee for more than 15 years and is now chair of the Secured Finance Foundation.

Further fueling change in the industry, Hayes also says that newer technology has greatly improved the speed and efficiency of reporting and monitoring collateral.

A Lasting Impression

While there are a few things Hayes would like to see the ABL industry accomplish before he retires, he is very happy with its growth and is proud to have been involved with driving it. Based on his experience, he encourages newcomers to the industry to treat clients and teams right, take ownership and accountability for everything you do, and be willing to express your opinions.

“I would like to be viewed as somebody who cared, somebody who treated people well, somebody who did the right thing and helped people,” Hayes says. “I’ve developed a lot of great friendships over the years and the industry knowledge and connectivity that’s provided is too much to describe, honestly. It’s been wonderful in all aspects for me.”