Bond Harberts joined Encina Business Credit as senior managing director and head of Underwriting. He will be based out of Encina’s Chicago headquarters in Chicago and report to CEO Marty Battaglia.

Harberts will be responsible for leading the firm’s underwriting function and work closely with Chief Risk Officer Tom Sullivan, who is responsible for managing the company’s fast-growing portfolio.

Harberts is a 25-year industry veteran who joins EBC from Fifth Third Bank, where he spent the past two years as a senior risk manager in the bank’s Asset-Based Lending Group.

He previously spent 17 years at GE Capital, where he held a number of risk management roles with increasing levels of responsibility across various asset-based and cash flow lending businesses. Prior thereto, Harberts worked at Fremont Financial (which was eventually acquired by FINOVA Capital) and The CIT Group.

Launched in March 2016, Encina is an independent asset-based lending platform targeting middle-market borrowers in the U.S. and Canada. The firm provides revolving lines of credit and term loans ranging in size from $10 million to $100 million and secured by accounts receivable, inventory, machinery & equipment and real estate.