Pros

Textron Financial's group-level and division-level management remain accessible and aligned with the interests of their employees. Management below the senior level is attune to the market, their employees and extremely well-qualified.

Cons

Textron Financial's senior-level management in Providence have not done very well at navigating the current financial environment, and in particular have failed in their duty of convincing Textron Inc. of the future and purpose of having a diversified financial services company as part of an industrial conglomerate. It's unfortunate to see such a solid company with strong division and group presidents be essentially eliminated because of a limited number of bad loans and overreaction on the part of TFC's parent company.

Advice to Senior Management

Increase the pace of decision-making. Decentralize the credit decision process so that people who understand the products make the decisions, and generally give the divisions and groups more autonomy.