Focus on what you can control
Rising delinquencies, tighter funding, and nervous boards are the new normal.
Praetorian helps independent equipment finance companies and small business lenders spot where risk is building before it becomes loss—through Portfolio Vulnerability Assessments, Problem-Loan Playbooks, and ongoing risk guardrails leadership can act on quickly.
If you’re seeing early stress in the book and want a clearer, more controllable path forward, let’s connect.
​
Book a 15-minute fit check to confirm what’s driving risk, where to focus first, and whether a 2–3 week Portfolio Vulnerability Assessment is the right starting point.
Credit Risk Management
Praetorian is a specialist partner across the real loan life cycle—not just origination to payoff, but early stress, problem loans, and recovery—at a time when rising delinquencies and charge-offs are redefining what “good” looks like in lending.
​
We help independent equipment finance companies and small business lenders spot risk early and act fast: identify vulnerable segments and vintages, tighten credit structures where it matters, and put discipline around underperforming accounts before they quietly become losses.
​
The result is practical, executive-ready work that improves visibility, strengthens decisioning, and brings consistency to collections—protecting ROA while supporting sustainable growth in a volatile environment.
​
If you’re seeing any of the following, Praetorian can help:
-
Delinquencies ticking up despite steady originations
-
Surprise early losses or vintage deterioration
-
Inconsistent problem-loan triage or “hero-based” collections
-
Limited early warning signals and unclear watchlist governance
Next step: If you want a clear view of where risk is building—and what to do about it—book a 15-minute fit check. We’ll align on your portfolio, your objectives, and whether a 2–3 week Portfolio Vulnerability Assessment is the right starting point.
Our Services
Praetorian exists for one reason: to help lenders see risk clearly and act on it early—before delinquencies, problem loans, and surprises show up in charge-offs, board decks, or regulator conversations.
We work with independent equipment finance companies and small business lenders who:
-
Are serious about protecting ROA and portfolio quality,
-
Run lean leadership teams, and
-
Don’t have the time or appetite to build a full in-house risk office.
​
Our approach is practical and operator-driven: no 80-page theory decks, no generic playbooks. We focus on the decisions you and your team need to make in the next 90–365 days—where risk is building, what to watch, what to tighten, and where to focus collections.
To make that simple, Praetorian’s work is organized into three core offerings:
​
-
Essentials Portfolio Vulnerability Assessment – a fast, focused look at your top risk areas.
-
Comprehensive Portfolio Vulnerability Assessment – a deeper, board-ready view across your full book.
-
Praetorian Guardrails (Quarterly) – ongoing, external risk eyes on your portfolio without adding headcount.
Each can stand alone, but they’re designed to build on each other: a clear diagnostic first, then steady guardrails as conditions and your portfolio evolve.
Advisory Services Covered
Alongside our Portfolio Vulnerability Assessments and Praetorian Guardrails (Quarterly), we also offer Executive Advisory support—a fractional, seasoned risk and collections leader in your corner to help you:
-
Prepare for board and investor conversations
-
Think through restructures, policy shifts, and high-stakes credits
-
Translate data and portfolio behavior into clear strategic decisions
With Praetorian, you get a practical, executive-ready approach to credit and collections: clearer visibility into your portfolio, sharper playbooks for high-risk accounts, and ongoing, senior-level guidance that protects ROA and supports sustainable growth—even in a volatile environment.
Gerry Weston
Principal
Gerry Weston is an operator, not a theorist. For more than 30 years, he has led credit, lending operations, and collections functions across independent equipment finance platforms and a fintech lender—helping CEOs and boards spot risk earlier, reduce losses, and turn collections into a measurable profit-protection function.
He has built and directed teams across a range of institution sizes and portfolio profiles, giving him a practical, in-the-trenches view of what works: tightening underwriting and deal structure where it matters, building early-warning and watchlist governance, creating Problem Loan Playbooks, and reshaping early-stage collections so stress is addressed upstream—not written off downstream.
Gerry holds a B.S. in Economics from Central Washington University, is a Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP), and has completed Project Management certification through UC Irvine. His clients describe him the same way those credentials read: technically strong, current on industry practice, and comfortable translating portfolio reality into executive-ready decisions.
At Praetorian, Gerry serves as a fractional risk and collections leader for independent equipment finance companies and small business lenders. His work is hands-on, direct, and designed to fit the size and culture of each client—delivering clear visibility, practical playbooks, and operating guardrails leadership can act on quickly. His goal is simple: help you see risk clearly, act early, and protect the portfolio you’ve worked hard to build
