Medallion Financial Stakeholder Activism
In Stephen Hodges' 16-year investing career he has never engaged in activism or publicly criticized a company in which he has been invested — with the exception of Medallion Financial Corp. ZimCal Asset Management is not an activist firm but saw no other option in this situation.
On October 16, 2026, ZimCal, Mr. Hodges and BIMIZCI Fund LLC entered into a negotiated agreement with Medallion under which Medallion agreed to purchase from BIMIZCI $15 million par value of trust preferred securities issued by a Medallion subsidiary. The press release can be accessed here (opens in a new tab).
ZimCal and its affiliates first invested in Medallion in 2021. At peak investment (June 2026), ZimCal had $11.85 million cash invested in preferred securities and common stock (58% preferred/42% common), with an estimated market value of $16.3 million to $17.8 million. ZimCal was one of Medallion's largest investors.
ZimCal's activist campaign with the company included two proxy contests — in 2024 (opens in a new tab) and 2026 (opens in a new tab) — to replace Medallion's existing directors. Mr. Hodges focused on accountability for the conduct underlying the SEC lawsuit (opens in a new tab) against Medallion, as well as on executive compensation, technology investment, governance, leadership, and business strategy. No proxy contest (opens in a new tab) was run in 2025, and the nomination notice was withdrawn prior to any solicitation or stockholder vote.
ZimCal's lead nominee received 27.1% (opens in a new tab) of shares voted in 2026, up from 22.1% (opens in a new tab) for its lead nominee in 2024 — a very strong showing given that Medallion insiders owned almost 40% of voted shares.
Read here for the 2026 proxy campaign announcement (opens in a new tab).
Activist Press Releases
10/19/26
ZimCal Asset Management Concludes Five-Year Medallion Financial Investment Under Negotiated Agreement
View Press Release06/08/26
ZimCal (BIMIZCI) Calls Out Medallion Financial's Latest Attempt at Distracting From its Core Underperformance by Using MFIN's Favored Tactic of Personal Attacks
View Press Release06/05/26
ZimCal (BIMIZCI) Exposes Medallion Financial Corp.'s Latest Campaign of Distortion and the Risks of Re-Electing Its Unqualified Directors
View Press Release06/04/26
BIMIZCI Urges Stockholders to Vote for Its Outstanding Nominees to the Board Who Will Strengthen Medallion and Represent Stockholders. MFIN Wants to Distract from Underlying Underperformance and Possible Dividend Issues – We Won't Let Them.
View Press Release05/29/26
ISS and Glass Lewis Support BIMIZCI's Case for Change at Medallion Financial. Both Recommend Stockholders Vote on the BLUE Proxy Card FOR Election of Two BIMIZCI Nominees to Medallion Board
View Press Release05/28/26
Medallion Financial's False Statements Exposed By The Written Record Before. It Does So Again. ZimCal Issues Point-by-Point Rebuttal of Medallion's Investor Presentation. Urges Stockholders to Vote for Change
View Press Release05/19/26
BIMIZCI Crosses 500,000 Share Threshold; Nominates Three Directors at Medallion Financial; Cites Deteriorating Performance, and Federal Securities Fraud Judgment
View Press Release05/24/24
ZimCal Responds to False Allegations From Medallion and Publishes Rebuttal
View Press ReleaseActivist Materials
05/28/26
Setting the Record Straight: ZimCal, Stephen Hodges and BIMIZCI’s Point-by-Point Rebuttal to Medallion Financial’s False Statements
2026 Rebuttal Deck05/08/26
BIMIZCI Files Definitive Proxy Statement for 2026 Annual Meeting
2026 Definitive Proxy Statement05/24/24
ZimCal Publishes Emails to/from Medallion that Expose Medallion’s Repeated Inaccuracies
05/24/24