This week we chat with Stephen Lewis, Managing Director, Headwaters MB. Headwaters is a middle market focused investment bank. Steve’s focus is cross border debt capital markets.

The Lead Left: Steve, it’s been over two years since we last spoke. What’s changed since then?

Stephen Lewis: The world is not the same place we knew even two years ago. Just look at Europe and see how the lending community is in the process of being re-made. In the US, lending to the middle market has been historically dominated by non-banks. In Europe it has been just the opposite. Now, as a result of regulatory pressures and public backlash, the European banks have had to scale back leaving a wide open opportunity for new market entrants, mostly non-regulated “alternative” lenders, to come in to fill the void.