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Announcements Commercial

Equitable Bank partners with BridgePoint Financial Services on secured credit facility

TORONTO , March 5, 2020 /CNW/ – Equitable Bank, Canada’s  Challenger Bank™, is pleased to announce it acted as the sole lead arranger of a $60 million senior secured credit facility to support the recapitalization and growth of BridgePoint Financial Services Inc. (BridgePoint), Canada’s leading provider of specialized loans for the legal services market with a focus on loans to individuals involved in personal injury claims and loans/credit facilities to law firms.

“BridgePoint is a leader in Canada’s litigation finance industry and their long track record of high performance makes them an outstanding partner,” said Andrew Moor , President & CEO of Equitable Bank. “As Canada’s Challenger Bank this credit facility was attractive to us as it is non-market correlated and includes a diverse portfolio of secured assets in an area not typically well-served in Canada .”

“We are very excited to partner with Equitable,” said John Rossos , Co-Founder & Principal of Bridgepoint. “Our business is not a traditional lending business and it is difficult for conventional banks to understand what we do and how we do it. Equitable has a dynamic view of the market and has demonstrated its ability to offer innovative solutions. This partnership will enhance our ability to facilitate access to justice for our clients.”

This partnership highlights Equitable Bank’s latest achievement by its growing Specialized Finance group and demonstrates how it continues to challenge traditional banking. In the spirit of creating unique opportunities that generate value for Canadian businesses, Equitable Bank’s Specialized Finance group focuses on offering secured financing solutions to specialty lenders to finance their growth.

About Equitable Bank

Equitable Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equitable Group Inc. (TSX:EQB and EQB.PR.C) (Schedule I Bank regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institution) with total Assets Under Management of over $33 billion . The Bank serves retail and commercial customers across Canada with a range of savings and lending solutions, offered under the Equitable Bank, EQ Bank, and Equitable Trust brands.

The Bank’s commercial lending business consists of Conventional Commercial, Insured Multi-unit Residential, Specialized Financing, and Equipment Leasing assets.

The Bank’s retail lending business consists of Alternative Single Family Lending, Prime Single Family Residential, and its decumulation businesses.

To learn more, please visit equitablebank.ca.

About BridgePoint Financial Services

BridgePoint Financial Services Inc. is Canada’s leading provider of litigation financing solutions designed to meet the specialized needs of plaintiffs, lawyers and the experts involved in advancing legal claims. BridgePoint’s goal is to level the litigation playing field and to protect its clients’ rights to full and fair access to justice.

SOURCE Equitable Bank

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Announcements Commercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Commercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Announcements Commercial People Moves

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.