Oak Street Touts Commissions-Based Lending

If an agency wants cash for an expansion or an acquisition, it can be hard to come by, as agencies’ most valuable asset — its book of business — can be difficult for traditional lenders to collateralize.

Rick Dennen, the CEO of Carmel, Ind.-based Oak Street Funding, thinks he’s found a way to fill that niche by letting agencies borrow money against the commissions they’re already earning. He gave IJ a brief outline of this new borrowing option at the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois convention in Springfield.