GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending continues to grow in the Lone Star State with the hiring of Paul Patrick as senior v.p. of origination for the Texas market. Patrick will be covering middle-market lending and dealing with acquisitions. He will report to Dan Karas, managing director.
Karas said that over the last three years his team has grown from three to 10 people. "I think that gives some indication of what we think of the growth possibilities here, not only economically in the state, but our prospects in the state," he said. Nine employees work in Dallas, one in Houston. Karas does not have plans to add staff beyond Patrick, at this point.
Texas is considered an important market for GE in terms of the demand for leveraged finance from midcap and larger companies. This activity is not directly related to oil, which is covered by GE Energy Financial Services. For example, GE recently was co-syndication agent and co-lead arranger in expanding Aviall's credit facility from $200 million to $260 million. Aviall is one of the world's largest distributor of general and commercial aftermarket aviation parts.
Acquaintances through the Dallas International Bankers Association, of which Patrick was a former president and current v.p., Karas approached his new hire about the position in December. Patrick began Feb. 7. Most recently Patrick was a v.p. at Guaranty Business Credit. He also held executive positions at U.S. Bank Business Credit, FINOVA Capital, Daiwa Bank, Credit du Nord and Security Pacific Bank.
"I hope to bring my 17 years of middle-market lending experience in the Texas market place [to GE]," Patrick said.