Business loan

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A business loan is a loan specifically intended for business purposes. [1] As with all loans, it involves the creation of a debt, which will be repaid with added interest. There are a number of different types of business loans, including bank loans, mezzanine financing, asset-based financing, invoice financing, microloans, business cash advances and cash flow loans. [2]

Contents

Types

Bank loan

A bank loan may be obtained from a bank and may be either secured or unsecured. For secured loans, banks will require collateral, which may be lost if repayments are not made. The bank will probably wish to see the business’s accounts, balance sheet and business plan, as well as studying the principals' credit histories. Many smaller businesses are now however turning towards Alternative Finance Providers, especially in the case of smaller firms.

Loans from credit unions may be referred to as bank loans as well. Business loans from credit unions received the second highest level of satisfaction from borrowers after loans from small banks. [3]

Methods of business loan assessment, monitoring, risk management, and pricing affect the growth and performance of banks and other lenders. They also affect access to finance by would-be borrowers. The types of business financial information on which lenders base their decisions have changed significantly over the years – along with the management of business lending in general. [4]

SBA loans

The US Small Business Administration (SBA) does not make loans; instead it guarantees loans made by individual lenders. The main SBA loan programs are SBA 7(a) which includes both a standard and express option; Microloans (up to $50,000); 504 Loans which provide financing for fixed assets such as real estate or equipment; and Disaster loans. In FY 2016, total 7(a) volume was $11,967,861,900 and total 504 loan volume was $2,517,433,000. [5]

Mezzanine finance

Mezzanine finance effectively secures a company’s debt on its equity, allowing the lender to claim part-ownership of the business if the loan is not paid back on time and in full. [6] This allows the business to borrow without putting up other collateral, but risks diluting the principals’ equity share in case of default.

Asset-based finance

Once considered the finance option of last resort, asset-based lending has become a popular choice for small businesses lacking the credit rating or track record to qualify for other forms of finance. [7] In simple terms, it involves borrowing against one of the company’s assets, with the lender focusing on the quality of the collateral rather than the credit rating and prospects of the company. A business may borrow against several different types of asset, including premises, plant, stock or receivables.

Invoice finance

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for SMEs to obtain traditional finance from banks. Alternative options are invoice discounting or factoring, whereby the company borrows against its outstanding invoices, with the ability to obtain funds as soon as new invoices are created. It is often questioned which option is best for your business – factoring or discounting – and the answer depends on how the business wants to be perceived by customers.[ citation needed ] With factoring, the finance company charges interest on the loan until the invoice is paid, as well as fees, and the finance company takes ownership of the debtor ledger and uses its own credit control team to secure payment. With invoice discounting, the business maintains control of its own ledger and chases debts itself.

Microloans

Smaller loans, usually for loan amounts of $100,000 USD or less, are referred to as “microloans.” Banks are less likely to make these loans than alternative lenders. When they do, the decision is usually based on the personal credit score of the business and/or the business credit score. [8]

Online Lenders / Non-Traditional Lenders

There has been a rise in the number of online lenders offering small business loans. Online alternative lenders originated an estimated $12 billion in small business loans in 2014, with unsecured consumer loans representing $7 billion and small business loans accounting for approximately $5 billion. [8] Nonbank lenders that make small business loans have doubled their outstanding portfolio balance every year since 2000. [9] Some online originate loans from their own capital. Others may use a “marketplace” model, in which they match borrowers to loan products from a variety of lenders. Popular business loan products that online lenders offer include: term loans, lines of credit and merchant cash advance. Others use crowdfunding platforms that allow businesses to raise capital from a wide variety of sources. This model has grown and will keep growing due to the fast process and minimum documentation it requires.

Secured and unsecured business loans

Business loans may be either secured or unsecured. With a secured loan, the borrower pledges an asset (such as plant, equipment, stock or vehicles) against the debt. If the debt is not repaid, the lender may claim the secured asset. Unsecured loans do not have collateral, though the lender will have a general claim on the borrower’s assets if repayment is not made. Should the borrower become bankrupt, unsecured creditors will usually realise a smaller proportion of their claims than secured creditors. As a consequence, secured loans will generally attract a lower rate of interest.

Lenders that make business loans often use a UCC filing to alert other creditors of their security interest in the property of the business. UCC filings may be placed against specific assets, or a blanket UCC filing secures interest in all property. UCC filings may affect the business credit score and may make it more difficult to obtain subsequent financing. UCC filings have become less common in alternative financing. Most lenders will only file a UCC against the business in the event of default.[ citation needed ]

Personal guarantees

Many lenders require principals with 20% or greater ownership in the business to provide a personal guarantee. The personal guarantee allows the lender to attempt to collect the debt from the personal assets of the guarantors. Small business lenders may waive the personal guarantee requirement if the business has strong business credit scores and revenue.[ citation needed ] In May 2016, changes to the Member Business Lending rule by the National Credit Union Administration board further improved these loans, by allowing credit unions discretion in obtaining a personal guarantee from a borrower. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loan</span> Lending of money

In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debt consolidation</span> Form of debt refinancing

Debt consolidation is a form of debt refinancing that entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This commonly refers to a personal finance process of individuals addressing high consumer debt, but occasionally it can also refer to a country's fiscal approach to consolidate corporate debt or government debt. The process can secure a lower overall interest rate to the entire debt load and provide the convenience of servicing only one loan or debt. Debt consolidation is sometimes pursued by loan sharks, charging clients exorbitant interest rates. Further regulation has been discussed as a result.

Credit risk is the possibility of losing a lender holds due to a risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial. In an efficient market, higher levels of credit risk will be associated with higher borrowing costs. Because of this, measures of borrowing costs such as yield spreads can be used to infer credit risk levels based on assessments by market participants.

Asset-based lending is any kind of lending secured by an asset. This means, if the loan is not repaid, the asset is taken. In this sense, a mortgage is an example of an asset-based loan. More commonly however, the phrase is used to describe lending to business and large corporations using assets not normally used in other loans. Typically, the different types of asset-based loans include accounts receivable financing, inventory financing, equipment financing, or real estate financing. Asset-based lending in this more specific sense is possible only in certain countries whose legal systems allow borrowers to pledge such assets to lenders as collateral for loans.

In finance, unsecured debt refers to any type of debt or general obligation that is not protected by a guarantor, or collateralized by a lien on specific assets of the borrower in the case of a bankruptcy or liquidation or failure to meet the terms for repayment. Unsecured debts are sometimes called signature debt or personal loans. These differ from secured debt such as a mortgage, which is backed by a piece of real estate.

A syndicated loan is one that is provided by a group of lenders and is structured, arranged, and administered by one or several commercial banks or investment banks known as lead arrangers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collateral (finance)</span> Borrowers pledge of property to a lender to be owed if a loan cant be repaid

In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan. The collateral serves as a lender's protection against a borrower's default and so can be used to offset the loan if the borrower fails to pay the principal and interest satisfactorily under the terms of the lending agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credit</span> Financial term for the trust between parties in transactions with a deferred payment

Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, but promises either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided by the first party can be either property, fulfillment of promises, or performances. In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonrecourse debt</span> Debt that is secured by a pledge of collateral, without personal liability of the borrower

Nonrecourse debt or a nonrecourse loan is a secured loan (debt) that is secured by a pledge of collateral, typically real property, but for which the borrower is not personally liable. If the borrower defaults, the lender can seize and sell the collateral, but if the collateral sells for less than the debt, the lender cannot seek that deficiency balance from the borrower—its recovery is limited only to the value of the collateral. Thus, nonrecourse debt is typically limited to 50% or 60% loan-to-value ratios, so that the property itself provides "overcollateralization" of the loan.

In finance, a security interest is a legal right granted by a debtor to a creditor over the debtor's property which enables the creditor to have recourse to the property if the debtor defaults in making payment or otherwise performing the secured obligations. One of the most common examples of a security interest is a mortgage: a person borrows money from the bank to buy a house, and they grant a mortgage over the house so that if they default in repaying the loan, the bank can sell the house and apply the proceeds to the outstanding loan.

Secured transactions in the United States are an important part of the law and economy of the country. By enabling lenders to take a security interest in collateral, the law of secured transactions provides lenders with assurance of legal relief in case of default by the borrower. The availability of such remedies encourages lenders to lend capital at lower interest rates, which in turn facilitates the free flow of credit and stimulates economic growth.

A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral, and if the borrower defaults, the creditor takes possession of the asset used as collateral and may sell it to regain some or all of the amount originally loaned to the borrower. An example is the foreclosure of a home. From the creditor's perspective, that is a category of debt in which a lender has been granted a portion of the bundle of rights to specified property. If the sale of the collateral does not raise enough money to pay off the debt, the creditor can often obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower for the remaining amount.

A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. A financial institution makes available an amount of credit to a business or consumer during a specified period of time.

The vast majority of all second lien loans are senior secured obligations of the borrower. Second lien loans differ from both unsecured debt and subordinated debt.

A secured transaction is a loan or a credit transaction in which the lender acquires a security interest in collateral owned by the borrower and is entitled to foreclose on or repossess the collateral in the event of the borrower's default. The terms of the relationship are governed by a contract, or security agreement. In the United States, secured transactions in personal property are governed by Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.).

In the United States, commercial finance is the function of offering loans to businesses. Commercial financing is generally offered by a bank or other commercial lender. Most commercial banks offer commercial financing, and the loans are either secured by business assets or alternatively can be unsecured, where the lender relies on the cash flows of the business to repay the facility.

SME finance is the funding of small and medium-sized enterprises, and represents a major function of the general business finance market in which capital for different types of firms are supplied, acquired, and costed or priced. Capital is supplied through the business finance market in the form of bank loans and overdrafts; leasing and hire-purchase arrangements; equity/corporate bond issues; venture capital or private equity; asset-based finance such as factoring and invoice discounting, and government funding in the form of grants or loans.

Asset Back Lending (ABL) typically provides collateralized credit facilities to borrowers with high financial leverage and marginal cash flows.

MultiFunding is a national business leverage advisor and brokering firm that helps small- and medium-sized businesses across America find debt financing for their companies. MultiFunding has placed over 700 loans in 47 states. It has financing capabilities in excess of $25 million. In addition to conventional bank loans, MultiFunding provides businesses with alternative loan options such as SBA-guaranteed loans, asset-based loans, equipment loans, real estate loans, and mezzanine loans, among others. MultiFunding was founded by Ami Kassar in 2010. They mostly broker SBA-guaranteed loans and asset-based loans.

Small business financing refers to the means by which an aspiring or current business owner obtains money to start a new small business, purchase an existing small business or bring money into an existing small business to finance current or future business activity.

References

  1. ↑ Jonnard, Claude (1997-12-29). International Business and TradeTheory, Practice, and Policy. CRC Press. ISBN   9781574441550.
  2. ↑ Aryya, Gangopadhyay (2001-07-01). Managing Business with Electronic Commerce: Issues and Trends: Issues and Trends. Idea Group Inc (IGI). ISBN   9781591400073.
  3. ↑ Federal Reserve Banks of New York; et al. (March 2016). "2015 Small Business Credit Survey Employer Firms". Newyorkfed. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ The Management of Business Lending: A Survey, ISR/Google Books, 2019. ISBN 9780906321591
  5. ↑ "SBA website report" (PDF). SBA. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Mezzanine Financing". Investopedia.
  7. ↑ "Asset-Based Financing Basics". Journal of Accountancy. August 1, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Brainard, Lael (September 30, 2015). "Community Banks, Small Business Credit and Online Lending". Federal Reserve. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Marketplace Lending Was Just What Banks Needed". American Banker. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  10. ↑ "Why Credit Unions Are a Favorite Funding Option for Small Businesses". AllBusiness.com. 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
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