Peapack-Gladstone Financial and Peapack Private have entered the yacht financing segment, according to reporting. As part of the launch, Peapack Private has hired industry veterans Jim Velez and Derick Buffum to lead the new financing team, according to reporting by New Jersey Business magazine.
“Our strategy has always been to enter specialized businesses with exceptional people who bring deep expertise, strong relationships and a proven ability to execute,” Peapack Private president and CEO Doug Kennedy said in the report. “Jim and Derick have spent their careers in specialized lending and understand the yacht finance market from origination and relationship development through underwriting, structuring and portfolio management.”
Clients will also have access to Peapack Private’s broader private banking, commercial banking and wealth-management services, allowing yacht financing to be considered as part of a comprehensive financial relationship.
Velez has more than four decades of yacht finance experience, with a track record of building and leading successful marine lending businesses, the report said. Buffum has extensive expertise in yacht lending, credit and underwriting, with significant experience structuring complex financing solutions for ultra-high-net-worth clients.
