Podcast 150: Build, Buy or Both? Kristian Dolan on How Lenders Should Approach AI Agents
Lenders and lessors are eager to put AI to work, but should you use an agent from your system of record vendor, bring in a third-party specialist or build your own in house?In this episode of the Monitor Podcast, Monitor Editor in Chief Rita Garwood talks with Kristian Dolan, CEO of Northteq, about how to make that call, why a weekend build is only the first 80%, what the ongoing costs of in-house agents look like and how to treat AI agents like employees when they touch your core systems.In this episode:• Where AI adoption in equipment finance stands today• The three options: system of record, third-party and build-your-own agents• Who should be involved in the decision• Why specialists make sense for fraud and know-your-business checks• The "80/20 trap" and the hidden costs of maintaining your own agents• Access controls, human review and audit trails for AI agents• What to ask your software vendors about MCP and API access
8 Oct 2026
Podcast 149: AI Hype vs. ABL Discipline: Mitsubishi HC Capital's Mike Semanco on Where Capital Is Flowing
Every headline seems to have an AI angle, but what does that mean for middle market borrowers who aren't building data centers?
In this episode of the ABF Journal / Monitor Podcast, Rita Garwood, editor in chief of ABF Journal and monitordaily.com, talks with Mike Semanco, president and COO of Business Finance at Mitsubishi HC Capital America. Semanco explains why an asset-based lender still starts with collateral, how the Great Recession and the rush into electric vehicles shaped his credit thinking, and why he believes companies that use AI as a tool are better positioned than those that pivot entirely.
In this conversation:
• Where capital is flowing and how much is tied to AI and data centers
• Why collateral comes first and cash flow second in ABL underwriting
• The metrics that matter most now, from free cash flow to EBITDA add-backs
• How Mitsubishi HC Capital kept lending to manufacturers during the Great Recession
• Warning signs in the EV pivot and why the lender passed on some deals
• Where the AI cycle echoes the EV story, and where it doesn't
• What borrowers without an AI story should do now
1 Oct 2026
Podcast 148: One Platform, One Vision: Inside Solifi's Acquisition of Inovatec
Solifi has made its third acquisition in 14 months, acquiring Inovatec and adding retail automotive and power sports loan origination technology to its secured finance platform.
In this episode, Monitor Editor-in-Chief Rita Garwood sits down with Solifi CEO Dan Corazzi and Inovatec co-founder Vladimir Kovacevic to talk about why the deal made sense, how the companies plan to integrate their technology and teams, and what's next for customers on both sides.
Topics covered in this episode:
— The product and geography gap that made Inovatec the right acquisition target
— How Solifi's private equity partner, TA, shaped the deal
— The plan for integrating Inovatec's Propel platform with Solifi's existing tools
— What changes — and what doesn't — for customers on both sides
— The future of Inovatec's Vancouver and Serbia offices
— Where AI creates new opportunities across the combined platform
— What success looks like 12 months from now
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