Is Your Bank About to Call Your Loan?
Corrigendum: This US Capital Partners blogpost is based on, among other sources, The Wall Street Journal article “Debate: Do Big Banks Lend Enough to Small Businesses?” (Dec. 13, 2011), featuring guest speakers Ami Kassar and Marc Bernstein.How to measure the risk of your bank calling your small-business loan, and what to do if you need refinancing.
According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, Bank of America is now demanding that some of its small-business customers pay off their credit line balances in full instead of making monthly payments. If customers are unable to pay off these balances on demand, they are being offered new repayment plans over as long as 5 years, but with far higher interest rates than before.
How to Know if Your Loan is About to be Called?
Unfortunately, your bank will generally not tell you your loan will be “called,” or not renewed, until right before it takes action. How do you know if your business is at risk? For a few easy steps to assess whether you are a likely candidate for loan termination at your bank, read our guide on financing.
A Few Reasons Why Banks Drop Small-Business Loans
Banks will pull loans for a number of reasons, but the most common are:
• poor financial performance by your business
• your bank’s own credit problems
• to impress the bank regulators
According to the Los Angeles Times article, "Bank of America severing some small-business credit lines," the Bank of America began dropping small-business loans because of pressure to raise capital and cut risks, in the wake of another round of Federal Reserve bank stress tests. The Wall Street Journal reported also that Bank of America’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, has told federal regulators that if the bank’s financial problems deepen, it could start retreating from certain parts of the country.
What to Do If Your Business is at Risk
Marin McElhanyIf your small-business loan is at risk of being called, you should contact our team at US Capital Partners, LLC immediately. There are usually plenty of financing options available to a small business in your position. US Capital Partners will help you secure the financing your business needs, so that you don’t suddenly find yourself at risk if the bank terminates your loan.
If you would like to know more about how your business can secure the funding it needs, contact our Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Marin McElhany at marin@uscapitalpartners.net or call (415) 889-1010.