Lenders want
to attract high quality borrowers because that is crucial to growing their
business. But who is a good borrower? What are the factors that a lender needs
to consider while determining the eligibility of the borrower?
Credit history
This is of
utmost importance. Before making a loan, the lender has to verify the personal
credit history of the borrower. Lenders should see how well the borrower has
handled their personal and business debts in the past.
If the
borrower hasn't obtained loans in the past, assessing their credit history may
not be easy. Then the lender should rely on the person's work history, job
security and personal references. If these are satisfactory, the lender should
consider making a loan.
Credit score
The lender
should use a reliable credit-rating agency to analyze the borrower's payment
history to their business obligations. The lender should also ensure that the
borrower is up-to-date with payments on their existing loans.
Repayment capacity
The lender
should consider unforeseeable events. For example, the company may suffer an
unexpected downturn after obtaining the loan. This will affect its repayment
capacity. The lender has to verify that the borrower has the capacity to turn
other assets into cash should profits dip. Assets can be investment
certificates, real estate holdings, machinery or equipment.
Cash flow
A cash-flow
based lender should look at the income of the company. Cash flow is the
company's net profits. Generally speaking, in order to obtain a loan worth
$100, the borrower / company should have $150 in cash flow.
Collateral
Most lenders
offer both secured and non-secured loans. When the lender makes a secured loan,
it asks the borrower to pledge an asset as collateral. This can be real estate,
machinery, inventory, and equipment etc.
Before
applying for a business loan, the borrower has to consider quite a few factors:
·
Ideally, the loan applicant should be the chief
decision maker in the company.
·
The company should be operating in the sector
for at least 3 years.
·
The company or its owner must not have filed for
bankruptcy in the last ten years.
·
The loan applicant should have paid his / her
bills on time.
Factors that might affect your chances of
obtaining the loan
If there is
a lawsuit or a tax lien against the loan applicant or the company, the lender
may reject the loan application. Having multiple sources of credit may also
reduce the borrower’s eligibility for a loan.
What to expect after applying for a loan
The loan
application should be filed by the owner of the company. If the company has
several owners, at least two of them should sign the application. Companies that
have been around for three or more years are more likely to receive funding.
If the owner
or the company has declared bankruptcy in the last ten years, the lender will
probably not entertain the loan application. However, a company can improve its
chances of getting a loan by repaying its creditors. If there a
lien or a judgment against the company, it should release all of them before
applying for credit.
Profitability
The lender
will typically look at the company’s tax returns to see if it had made profits
during the past few years. If it hasn’t reported profits, the company will
probably find it difficult to make loan repayments. In this case, the loan
application is more likely to be rejected.