Houlihan Lokey Advises AFS

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Automated Financial Systems, LLC (AFS), a leading provider of commercial loan servicing and loan lifecycle management technology to the financial services industry, has been acquired by OceanSound Partners, LP (OceanSound). The acquisition will enable AFS to accelerate product innovation, increase investment in sales and support resources, and deliver enhanced value to its commercial lending partners. Edward Jenkins has joined the company as its Chief Executive Officer to lead these efforts.

Founded in 1970, AFS has established itself as a trusted technology partner to community banks, regional banks, and national financial institutions, managing complex commercial lending portfolios. The company’s flagship platform, AFSVision, enables customers to manage the full lifecycle of complex commercial loans, including commercial and industrial, capital markets/syndications, commercial real estate (CRE), small business administration (SBA), agriculture, and other facilities through a single, real-time system of record. AFS helps many of the largest U.S. financial institutions replace fragmented legacy systems, reduce operational risk, and improve efficiency across their commercial lending operations.

Mr. Jenkins joins AFS with extensive experience leading and scaling enterprise software businesses in highly regulated industries. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer at Veriforce, a leading provider of supply chain risk management software. As Chief Executive Officer, he will focus on advancing AFS’ product roadmap, enhancing customer outcomes, and investing in talent and infrastructure to support long-term growth.

“I am honored to join AFS at such an important moment in the company’s evolution,” said Mr. Jenkins. “For over 50 years, AFS has built an exceptional reputation for reliability, deep functionality, and customer partnership. Banks depend on AFSVision as their system of record for billions of dollars in commercial loans. That’s a tremendous responsibility and a testament to what this team has built. With OceanSound’s support and expertise in regulated technology markets, we’re going to accelerate our investment in product innovation, expand our engineering and customer success capabilities, and deliver the modern technology our customers need to compete and grow.”

“The AFS team has built a mission-critical platform that banks trust with their most complex lending operations,” said Ted Coons, President and Co-Founder of OceanSound. “The next chapter is about taking that foundation and accelerating the innovation our customers are demanding, particularly around interconnectivity, real-time insights, and modern infrastructure. That requires investment, talent, and focus. We’re excited to partner with Edward and the AFS team to make those investments and deliver on that vision.”

“AFS has established itself as the gold standard for commercial loan servicing technology, enabling banks to manage their most complex lending activities with precision and scale,” said Sam Todd, Principal at OceanSound. “As financial institutions modernize their technology infrastructure, the need for mission-critical, best-of-breed platforms like AFSVision has never been greater. We look forward to supporting the team as they enhance the platform and expand their capabilities to serve an evolving market.”

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to AFS.

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