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The non-bank lender has doubled the size of its credit team and appointed an inaugural chief credit officer to head the team.
Business lender Bizcap has announced the appointment of Tony Truong as its inaugural chief credit officer, as the lender has doubled the size of its credit team to meet growing demand.
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Truong joined Bizcap in 2021 as the lender’s head of credit, supporting small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the aftermath of the pandemic. According to the lender, Truong “adopted Bizcap’s risk evaluation ethos” and has trained the credit team to incorporate the lender’s strategy.
The lender said that it increased its maximum loan size from $1 million to $5 million with Truong as the head of its credit team. Bizcap said that the expansion of the credit team would ensure that the lender upholds the “speed” and “rigour” of its credit assessment process.
Bizcap said that Truong – who began his position as chief credit officer in February this year – was promoted in recognition of his achievements and his success in maintaining Bizcap’s loan book.
Prior to his time at Bizcap, the new chief credit officer worked as an underwriting manager at SME lender Moula and as a senior evidence assessment officer with IT consultancy company Serco for 10 years. Truong has also served as a senior credit risk analyst with energy company BP for 10 years.
Speaking on Truong’s appointment, co-founder and joint managing director Zalman Blachman said: “Tony brings a trifecta of capabilities to his role as chief credit officer: a deep understanding of the risks and challenges faced by SMEs, the ability to adopt and scale Bizcap’s unique lending ethos and strategy, and exceptional team leadership skills.
“This trifecta is key for driving Bizcap’s success in providing fast and flexible lending solutions to a diverse range of small businesses, and helping Bizcap to scale globally.”
The chief operating officer of Bizcap, Adam Szental, also commented on the announcement, saying that it would allow the lender to process more loan applications.
Szental said: “As Bizcap experiences rapid growth, Tony’s promotion and the expansion of Bizcap’s Credit team allow us to process a larger volume of loan applications at the speed for which we are known and dedicated to.
“We welcome Tony to Bizcap’s senior leadership team and are confident that under his direction, the credit team will excel in supporting more SMEs, ensuring their financial success.”
Truong spoke on Bizcap’s credit assessment process, saying that the lender focuses on a business’s current cash flow and doesn’t automatically reject applications based on previous defaults or low credit scores.
He said: “When assessing a small business’ loan application, we focus on their current cash flow and, though we do take their history into account, we don’t let past blemishes like defaults or low credit scores automatically disqualify them.
“Instead, we assess real-time potential, and believe in giving businesses a chance to rebuild.”
The chief credit officer also said that Bizcap has the autonomy to assess risk “on its own terms” as it is privately funded and does not have the “constraints of institutional money”.
Bizcap also launched two new finance products earlier this year to address the diverse needs of SMEs.
[Related: Bizcap launches 2 SME financing solutions]
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