About The Author

About The Author

Donald Clarke, President of the Asset Based Lending Consultants (ABLC) and Don Clarke Enterprises (DCE), vaunts nearly 40 years of experience in commercial lending and leasing, asset-based lending, quality of earnings certification, and Fortune 500 corporate lending continuing education.

Mr. Clarke, a 1972 graduate of the City University of New York, began his career with Bankers Trust Co. (NY) and Bank of New York (NY).   Before establishing the ABLC company group in 1986, Mr. Clarke was the Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Credit Officer at Southeast Bank Leasing.

Recognized as one of the premiere experts in the field of asset-based lending disciplines, Mr. Clarke was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal’s banking correspondent.   He was quoted in the November 16, 1995 articles “Lending Woes Stunt Growth of Small Firms” and the August 6, 1996 “Financial Firms Targeting Small Business Are On The Rise.”       Mr. Clarke possesses the certification as an expert witness in US Bankruptcy Courts and has testified for lenders such as Bank of America and NCNB.

Mr. Clarke is a world-renowned scholar and teacher on the disciplines of Asset Based Lending including underwriting, financial statement analysis, account management, field examinations, and inventory lending.  With over 30 years of instructional experience, he is currently serving as a senior instructor with Secured Finance Network (SFNet).   Mr. Clarke is the 2019 recipient of their prestigious Harry H. Chen Memorial Award of Excellence.  Mr. Clarke was recently awarded the SFNet’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted in the SFNet’s Hall of Fame.  He was also named Education Chair for the SFNet’s 2020-2021 Executive Board.  Mr. Clarke was also named one of ABF Journal’s Legend Icons in 2021.

Cumulatively, Mr. Clarke has taught over 5,000 students internationally on the disciplines of secured lending.  Mr. Clarke has facilitated General Electric Commercial Finance Investment Analyst courses in Chicago, London, India, and Sydney, Australia.  Mr. Clarke has also conducted seminars extensively in England and Ireland for such major European financial institutions as Lloyds Bank (London), National Westminster Bank (London), Barclays Bank (London), Bank of Ireland (Dublin), RBS (London), and General Electric Capital (London, Delhi, India and Sydney, Australia).

Today, Mr. Clarke continues to conduct seminars on risk analysis and loan structuring.   These seminars also include courses on lending on collateral covered by insurance products offered by Coface, Eurler Hermes, SBA and EximBank.

Mr. Clarke is the author of the first textbook on asset-based lending titled Asset Based Lending Disciplines which covers the field examinations, operations, and accounts manager functions.