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58 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2019 INSURANCE & FINANCIAL SERVICES WorldBusiness Capital can help companies involved in global trade by offering longer loan terms, lower rates, and more flexible use of proceeds than they can get elsewhere. WBC generally focuses on companies that are making under $250 million per year in revenue, with an industrial core focus – manufacturing and distribution, transportation and logistics, food processing and packaging, equipment, and brand name franchising. "The value proposition is that we offer very attractive financing terms and have a great deal of international expertise." In fact, Silvers was very experienced in international finance before he ever launched WBC. From 1988 to 2001, he was the CEO of a Hartford-based bank that came to be called First International. "My career has been in this very area, lending money to small businesses, helping them to compete internationally, and covering our risk with government-backed programs. It was a very interesting time because we had 15 offices across the U.S. and six overseas representatives, and we were widely recognized for the creative things we were doing." He said when the bank was sold, "I decided to scratch the one itch I wasn't able to at the bank. We had a number of clients in Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and Eastern Europe. They said, 'It would be great to have access to buy things from the U.S. We want American partners to build facilities and assemble products.'" Silvers approached OPIC and helped the Washington-based government agency develop its first-ever loan guarantee program to help small companies launch operations in overseas markets. "That's been a very successful program. We're now in our 17th year and have made over three-quarters of a billion dollars in financing with OPIC guarantees." WBC works with other divisions of the U.S. government as well. "You don't lend internationally without a lot of due diligence. We have a very close relationship with the federal Department of Commerce," Silvers said. "The DOC helps us do studies of potential clients overseas and makes introductions to businesses that might need our kind of financing." In 2016, the lender decided it would make sense to be licensed by the state. "We felt that because of the nature of our business, it would be a good idea to be regulated like a bank. To maintain our reputation, it's important to prove we're in compliance, and our clients want to know that we're licensed." Silvers and his team went before the state legislature and met with various officials, including the governor, to make their case, and worked with the Department of Banking to help define the parameters. "I've never seen a degree of cooperation like this among all of those representatives. Everybody supported it and passed this really key legislation. We're the only state that has this license for an international finance corporation. Everybody recognizes the benefits for Connecticut's economic development." He said while the firm is always looking to expand its products and markets, "we have a firm commitment to the state of Connecticut and the City of Hartford. We're here for good; we'll always be based in Connecticut." INSURANCE & FINANCIAL SERVICES Brett Silvers, President and CEO, WBC