NMBA releases marine lending conference itinerary

CHICAGO – The National Marine Bankers Association will celebrate a Silver Anniversary during its Annual Marine Lending Conference scheduled for Sept. 26-28 in San Diego. Conference chairman Bill Otto of KeyBank USA said the event will be notable for its celebratory stature and depth of business relevance, according to a recent NMBA press release.

A mix of finance and marine industry conference sessions, a look back and to the future, and networking opportunities will be included in the planned festivities, the association reported.

Genmar’s senior vice president of marketing, George Sullivan, will bring his and Genmar Holding’s corporate views to the conference. Planners have asked Sullivan to take a wide view of the vitality of the marine business, where it’s been and where he thinks it’s headed, and how the lending and support community can help boating gain a fair share of recreational spending.

Economist Gina Martin will bring her perspective on what’s driving consumer and business activity with a special look at discretionary spending, an interest rate outlook and the mood of the nation in this election year. Martin joined Wachovia Bank in 1998 and is an economist with Wachovia Securities.

Transatlantic sailor and vice president for product development at West Marine, Chuck Hawley, will share his experiences from sailing 40,000 miles on vessels ranging from ultralight “sleds” to single-handed sailboats, to the maxi catamaran “Playstation,” on which he raced from New York to Miami and across the Atlantic.

Dr. Ed Mahoney, a professor and co-director of the National Marine Research Center at Michigan State University, will provide more depth into demographic profiles of boat customers, differences of those who finance and those who don’t, trends in new vs. used boat sales and more.

“Evolving Dangers of Internet Fraud,” how the lending industry and boating community can identify when they are targeted and ways to avoid becoming victims, will be addressed by Robert Douglas, CEO of American Privacy Consultants, Inc.

A session will address how credit scoring and risk modeling are evolving. Representatives from the major credit bureaus will consider this question in a discussion of scoring differentials and consumer lending that will be useful to lenders and others to help determine borrowers’ credit standing and likelihood of being approved for loans.

Additional details and registration forms are posted at www.marinebankers.org.

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