Article brought to you by Google Alerts and the Commercial Lending Division
Have you ever applied for a business loan? It’s an uphill battle, even more so now than ever. How hard can it be? I found some sobering facts:
- 74 percent of all small business loan applications get turned down. Maybe as high as 90 percent. (Source: sba.gov)
- Banks are fighting over cream of the crop borrowers — doctors, lawyers and CPAs or companies that have been around a long time with steadily increasing gross income year after year. (Source: fdic.gov/bank/statistical/)
What’s the reason that banks have put a tighter net on the money tree? I think it’s fair to sum it up with two words — profit and regulations. Despite any bad feelings we may have towards banks, they’re in business to make money from lending. With such a low percent of net interest margin, the best possible outcome on a loan for these money making lenders is to get paid back all of its principal and make a small spread on the interest. Add the latest batch of regulations into the mix and you have a recipe for hard work on the part of loan applicants.
Best Financial Foot Forward
For those who might be having issues trying to deal with our beloved big banks, I contacted Brock Blake, Lendio’s CEO, and asked him to provide some insights and tips along with some of my own: Read more