David J. Bell

Dave is a senior executive with 44 years of experience in financial services, with 25+ years of Wall Street investment banking experience at Deutsche Bank. He is deeply experienced in multiple financial disciplines including corporate finance, leveraged finance, financial restructuring and workouts, debt underwriting and risk management, external and internal auditing, financial accounting, financial planning, and tax planning. Dave possesses many years of international investment banking experience having managed a large team of banking professionals located in North America, Europe, and Asia during his career.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank (Bankers Trust) in 1997, Dave was a senior member of Policano & Manzo, a highly successful boutique financial advisory and consulting firm providing financial and restructuring advice to parties-in-interest to financially distressed matters.

Dave began his career in public accounting in the audit division of Arthur Andersen & Co. After being promoted to Senior Accountant he departed for private industry holding various management positions in finance, accounting, reporting and auditing. He also spent several years as Chief Financial and Operating Officer for a boutique full-service broker-dealer where he was responsible for financial reporting, management of audits, compliance and governance for the firm. He is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New Jersey.

Dave is excellent at establishing, developing and maintaining constructive relationships, often in emotionally charged situations. He possesses strong verbal and written communication skills. Dave has developed a unique style of effective negotiating skills during his lengthy career in financial services which he is able to constructively deploy in a diversity of settings.

Dave’s core strengths are in workouts & restructuring, debt capital markets – raising debt capital, as well as what businesses are suitable for debt capital, management consulting, and mentoring & executive coaching.

Professional Experience, Education & Certifications

DEUTSCHE BANK, Columbus Circle, New York, NY 1997-2022
Managing Director, 2004-2022; Director, 1998-2003; Vice President, 1997

Americas Head of Workout and Recovery Management, 11/2015-12/2022

• Oversaw a large portfolio of distressed corporate loans; exercised effective management of this active and high-risk loan portfolio by closely monitoring borrowers and making modifications and restructuring loans as needed.
• Assumed the role of lead restructuring banker; managed large complex corporate loans and large syndicated lending groups.
• Drove efforts to maximize recovery of the Bank’s capital and to minimize loan losses. Closely tracked financial performance and liquidity positions of borrowers. Performed enterprise valuations and analyzed the Bank’s recovery prospects under various recovery scenarios. Devised and implemented strategies to maximize loan recovery amount.
• Managed a team of 12+ senior banking professionals and credit officers located in NYC and Jacksonville. Oversaw the hiring process and provided training to new team members. Wrote performance evaluations and provided corrective action as needed to improve performance. Executed the comprehensive annual compensation review process for the entire team.
• Devised and implemented strategies to recover the Bank’s capital. Analyzed the range of potential outcomes (including but not limited to sale of loan, restructuring loan, etc.), identified optimal actions, and oversaw implementation and execution of the strategy to facilitate greatest loan recovery.
• Built and strengthened lending relationships and identified new debt financing opportunities with the existing borrowers. Partnered with borrower management teams and private equity ownership to collaborate on devising and implementing solutions.
• Collaborated routinely and effectively with regulatory representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank, European Central Bank and Germany. Adhered to regulatory expectations and improved processes and communication. Enhanced monitoring of each borrower in the portfolio by establishing a weekly forum to review selected loans. Utilized forum to adjust strategic recovery plans and address alternative options as necessary.
• Provided timely and effective communication of the status of loan portfolio and specific distressed matters to senior Bank executives. Communicated potential loan losses that could impact the Bank’s financial results.

Global Head of Leveraged Finance Credit Risk Management, 6/2010-10/2015

• Managed all aspects of credit risk for the Bank’s leveraged finance lending book which totaled more than $22 billion of global loan exposure. Monitored the financial performance and creditworthiness of borrowers. Evaluated the risk/reward tradeoff of lending positions and ensured consistency with the Bank’s risk strategy. Forecasted loan loss provisions.
• Communicated effectively with senior management on the status of the portfolio and the leveraged finance franchise.
• Managed a team of 40+ banking professionals/credit officers located in New York, London, Frankfurt and Singapore. Led the hiring process and trained new staff. Executed performance evaluation of team members and managed the annual compensation review process for global team.
• Acted as chairperson and voting member of the Bank’s debt underwriting committee. Participated in 500+ underwriting committee meetings.
• Successfully managed the underwriting risk and credit risk in the Bank’s highly profitable leveraged finance business. Approved over $30 Billion of debt underwriting transactions experiencing losses of less than 0.05%. Actively supported the Bank’s consistent top 5 league table position in debt underwriting.
• Interacted with regulatory representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank, European Central Bank and Germany. Responded to frequent regulatory inquiries, executed examinations, and ensured underwriting commitments and portfolio management were consistent with regulatory expectations and requirements.
• Worked effectively across multiple divisions of the Bank to maximize profitability and minimize the financial risk of the leveraged finance franchise. Monitored the creditworthiness of borrowers in the loan portfolio. Ensured portfolio was managed in accordance with regulatory expectations and requirements. Exercised sound judgment as an underwriter to properly balance risk/reward of proposed transactions.

Leveraged Finance Business-Workout and Restructuring Group, 9/2000-6/2009

• Served as senior banker in the restructuring finance business and workout function. Managed a sub-portfolio of approximately 12 distressed loans of various sizes totaling $500M to $1 billion of principal outstanding.
• Managed multiple distressed situations concurrently and implemented strategies to recover the Bank’s capital. Worked to identify possible outcomes and execute corresponding strategies to maximize loan recovery.
• Pursued and provided debtor-in-possession and exit financing to debtors in Chapter 11, and earned work and origination fees for the leveraged finance business. Experienced numerous successes originating financing transactions and directly contributed to $5M of work fees.
• Successfully executed numerous special projects requested by senior management. Assisted with the strategic management of the leveraged loan portfolio. Ensured effective deployment of Bank capital via Committee membership. Successfully managed the Bank’s largest ever distressed underwriting matter which exceeded $4 billion of underwritten loan exposure.

Leveraged Finance Business, Relationship Manager in the Leveraged Loan Portfolio Management Group, 6/1997-8/2000

• Managed a portion (30-40 corporate loans) of the leveraged loan portfolio including monitoring the borrowers’ financial performances and compliance with credit agreements.
• Partnered with management to analyze and track performance. Evaluated and structured proposed amendments to credit agreements.
• Interacted with loan syndicates regarding borrower issues; pursued new financing and engaged in cross-selling opportunities with borrowers.

Education & Certifications

• Seton Hall University, Master of Science with concentration in Taxation
• Villanova University, Bachelor of Science in Accounting
• Certified Public Accountant, New Jersey
• Certification as member of the “Maxwell Certified Leadership Team”, March 2023

Affiliations

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• Risk Management Association (RMA)