Soon there will be a new player in the art loan game. Medallion, a specialty finance corporation that began by providing loans to would-be taxi medallion owners and has since branched out to many different niche lending markets, has, perhaps unsurprisingly, jumped on the art loan craze. Medallion Fine Art, Inc. will be headed by former Sotheby’s vice president and senior lender Shelley Fischer.

Fischer noted in a release that the company will make loans in the range of $500,000-5 million, based on appraisals, for terms up to three years. As art loans usually carry a 50 percent or less loan-to-value ratio, it’s likely that the company won’t be lending against any work of art worth less than $1 million. Loans will be available for collectors and dealers alike.

— Shane Ferro

Tags: Art Loans, Medallions