The TMA Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, and Central Texas Chapters held their 13thAnnual TMA Southwest Regional Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, May 1-2.

With more than 135 attendees from 13 states and Canada, the conference kicked off with Guest Speaker Keith Phillips, assistant vice president, and senior economist at the San Antonio Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Phillips gave an update of the Texas economy and how recent tariffs have impacted the state, as well as an outlook for growth next year.

The guest speaker was then followed by a State of the Markets panel, which was moderated by Larry Makel, a partner with Dorsey & Whitney. The panel included Michael Sharkey, president of MB Business Credit; Hans Hubbard, managing director at CSG Investments; and Robert Orr, managing director at Sandton Capital Partners. Panelists discussed recent trends in both the buyout and financing marketplace, including leverage multiples, purchase multiples, and recent loan covenant failures.

Another panel, moderated by W. Steven Bryant, a partner with Locke Lord, included as panelists William Snyder, a partner with CR3 Partners, and the Hon. Mary Jo Heston of the Western District of Washington. This panel discussed high-profile litigation between Jay Alix and McKinsey & Company pending in bankruptcy courts in Texas, Virginia, and New York. Alix has alleged that McKinsey misled and improperly reported its connections and conflicts of interest in several cases. The complaint also accused McKinsey & Company of engaging in pay-to-play deals which offered vast amounts of money to bankruptcy lawyers for referring clients to McKinsey & Company.

Michael Parker, a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright, moderated a panel discussion of Houstonian R. Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme/fraud case, which is one of the most significant such cases ever tried, with more than $8 billion “invested.” Panelists included Ralph Janvey, federal receiver for the case; Kevin Sadler, a partner with Baker Botts and an attorney for the federal receivership; and Karyl Van Tassel, a managing director with BDO who served as a forensic accountant for Janvey. The panel provided details of the case and tactics Sanford used to hide money all over the world. In fact, the members of this panel are still trying to recover millions of dollars that remain hidden in secret Swiss bank accounts.

Afterward, more than 56 attendees headed for the JW Marriott TPC course for the golf tournament, which was followed by a networking reception and then a dinner honoring speakers and sponsors of the events.

Written by: Harold J. Kessler, CTP, BlackBriar Advisors LLC