Medallion Financial Corp.

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.medallionfinancial.com
Employees: 127
Employee growth: 4.1%

Medallion Financial turns taxicab licenses, or "medallions," into gold. It makes loans for the purchase of medallions (more than half of its loan portfolio), which are usually limited in number per city by law. It targets mainly New York City, but also finances medallions in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts; Chicago; and Newark, New Jersey. Subsidiary Medallion Bank funds Medallion Financial's taxi and commercial lending activities by issuing certificates of deposit to clients; it also originates loans for boats, trailers, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles. Other subsidiaries, including Medallion Capital and Freshstart Venture Capital, also offer commercial financing.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2011:
Sales: $38.4M
One year growth: (5.8%)
Net income: $19.2M
Income growth: 69.9%

Officers:
Chairman and CEO, Medallion Financial and Medallion Funding: Alvin M. Murstein
President and Director: Andrew M. Murstein
EVP and COO: Brian S. O'Leary

Competitors:
Ameritrans Capital
Ares Capital
Citigroup