Jonathan Wesley Finch is an entrepreneur and financial services leader with more than 26 years of experience in consumer finance, specialty lending, and insurance. As President and Co-Founder of Southeast Financial, he built the company from the ground up into a national lender for recreational vehicles and protection products.
Wesley launched Southeast Financial in late 1999 after recognizing a clear gap in the market. At the time, boat and recreational vehicle financing was years behind the automotive industry in both process and sophistication. Many buyers walked into their local bank and were offered short terms and high rates, often with no real alternatives. Wesley saw an opportunity to modernize the experience: helping dealerships streamline their finance and insurance process while giving buyers access to more competitive rates and longer terms.
He believed early that the internet would change lending. While online lending was still in its infancy, he positioned Southeast Financial to embrace digital applications, allowing the company to serve dealerships and buyers nationwide long before that became the industry standard. Southeast Financial financed $7 million in recreational loans in its first year and now facilitates hundreds of millions of dollars in financing annually.
How he approaches the business
As the company grew, Wesley expanded Southeast Financial into extended service contracts for recreational assets. Coverage spans RVs and campers, motorhomes, boats and personal watercraft, motorcycles, side-by-sides and off-road vehicles, and horse trailers with living quarters. The program is available whether or not the owner financed through Southeast Financial.
Outside Southeast Financial, Wesley is a licensed insurance agent and the founder of Nehi Reinsurance, LTD. He is part of the ownership group that acquired the Field & Stream brand and helped form its partnership with Tractor Supply Company, which brought the brand into more than 2,400 stores nationwide. Through Recap Financial Ventures, LLC, he was part of the acquisition of a majority interest in Lineage Financial Network, Inc., the bank holding company for Lineage Bank, now Harpeth Bank & Trust. That transaction raised more than $30 million from local investors, including $15 million in preferred stock that provided an immediate capital infusion.
Beyond lending
Wesley is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, and he built Southeast Financial around the same priorities he looks for in people: work ethic and honesty. His view is that skills can be taught, but integrity cannot, and that principle still shapes the company’s culture today.
Lending Partners
Over the years, Wesley has built lending relationships with national and specialty banks, including:
These relationships reflect his experience in credit risk management, regulatory compliance, and building loan programs for recreational assets.
Leadership & Recognition
