What do a $1 billion art collection, a $276,000 dinosaur skull, and a $150,000 octopus have in common?

Besides being headline-worthy trophies of the ultra-wealthy, they may also serve a more surprising purpose — collateral for private credit loans.

At 9fin's latest webinar, "When things fall apart — private credit enforcement from New York to Hong Kong,” 9fin host and global head of distressed and restructuring, Max Frumes, hosted a panel of experts to explore what happens when these loans go wrong, and enforcement gets creative.

The panel featured:

• John Han and Dan Saval from Kobre & Kim
• Ron Thompson from Alvarez & Marsal
• Dan Zwirn from Arena Investors

Keep reading for our top takeaways — or head here to access the recording.

1. Jurisdiction is key

The foundation of any successful enforcement action lies in the loan documentation's governing law, and arbitration clauses. As John Han emphasized: "the loan docs tell you where you have to sue and what law applies. But it's highly unlikely that you'll have assets or people in the place where you file the lawsuit."

Here, the exportability of judgments is what matters most.

It is essential to think globally from day one. As Han noted, "You really want to have a mindset that you're able to pursue assets and people wherever they may be."

2. Personal guarantees can be personal

Personal guarantees are a cornerstone of private credit structures, particularly in founder-led businesses. But as Dan Saval explained, there's often a psychological disconnect.

"From the perspective of the guarantor, they're often taking the position that ... ‘I was never putting my personal or family wealth on the line.’"

The transition from commercial discussions to personal liability often turns cooperative negotiations into "quite acrimonious" disputes, requiring sophisticated legal strategies.

In enforcement, personal guarantees become more than just contractual terms, and can be used as psychological pressure points to accelerate settlements when properly leveraged.

To read 9fin’s in-depth coverage of the ongoing saga between Fortress Credit Group and New York real estate tycoon, Charles Cohen, click here.

3. The "synthetic personal guarantee"

One development in enforcement is the emergence of what John Han calls "synthetic personal guarantees." These arise when company executives breach court orders by transferring assets beyond receivers' reach.

In one case, a court awarded $186 million payable directly by a company chairman to creditors — effectively creating personal liability without an original guarantee. This represents a new tool for creditors facing evasive debtors.

Courts are increasingly willing to hold executives personally liable for contempt and asset transfers, creating guarantee-like exposure even without original documentation.

4. Enforcement needs to be timely and credible

Modern enforcement measures need to be taken before all the value is gone and it needs to be believed they’ll take things through to the end in order to possibly strike a deal sooner. The panel highlighted some of the seemingly mercenary measures that can be effective:

• Contempt orders: currently, Kobre & Kim has three apprehension orders in Hong Kong and multiple criminal contempt orders in New York.
• Disqualification actions: using contempt orders to disqualify individuals from serving as public company directors or even owning FIFA football clubs.
• Interim receiverships: particularly effective in offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands (though watch out if the receiver sticks around too long).
• Alter ego and reverse veil piercing: going after shell companies and assets transferred to family members can also be effective.

As Dan Saval noted, "You're often looking at illiquid or unique assets such as yachts, fine vintage wine, private islands, luxury cars" — assets not typically considered in underwriting.

Ron Thompson's experience in Asia reinforces a crucial principle: "I'm a big believer in cooperative deals, but you always do need a carrot and stick." The ability to enforce, and the reputation for following through, often leads to faster, more efficient resolutions.

In Chinese culture particularly, the threat to personal reputation and family assets can be more effective than actual asset seizure. As Ron says, "you make the spouse angry and you'll get an engagement much faster."

In most cases, the most successful enforcement combines genuine willingness to cooperate with credible threats of aggressive action.

Want to dig further into real-world private credit enforcement actions? Head here to read 9fin’s proprietary analysis MGG v. Safra case.

5. Recovery profiles: the surprising upside

Contrary to popular assumptions, Dan Zwirn revealed that Arena Investors has historically achieved "negative severity on defaults" — meaning they've often recovered more than par through enforcement actions.

Lending $6 against a $10 asset that declines to $8 can still yield $2 in profit through foreclosure with a motivated borrower paying high coupons.

Properly structured enforcement can turn distressed situations into profitable outcomes, but only with comprehensive upfront security and guarantee structures.

Watch the full webinar recording here.

The 9fin advantage

As deal sizes grow and underwriting becomes more complex, enforcement readiness is a strategic edge. 9fin gives you that edge.

Our platform delivers real-time distressed intelligence, legal insights, and proprietary credit analysis, allowing you to assess risk, spot enforcement triggers, and act faster than the market.

Want to see it in action? Try 9fin free for 30 days.