Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Unfreezing the Small Business Credit Market

If you’ve Googled ‘Small Business Loans’ or ‘Financing Your Small Business’ lately, you’ve likely noticed a number of similar articles.

“Small firms still struggling to acquire affordable loans”
“Big changes in the business loan approval process”
“Why small business lending remains dry 3 years after credit crisis began”

The reality of today’s lending market is that small business loans are generally more difficult to acquire. Banks have changed the way they approach loan underwriting and have tightened their credit standards to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis - a perfectly understandable goal.

Yet, the need for capital among small business owners has not changed. What has changed is their creditworthiness, particularly their credit scores. Late or missed loan payments, decreased personal income, bankruptcy filings, liens, and any number of other factors have impacted the credit scores of many small business owners since 2008.

So now we have a situation where borrowers need loan capital to support or expand their business but are unable to meet the increased standards set by most traditional lenders. This ‘frozen’ credit market puts small businesses at further risk of failure.

Bridging this gap by providing affordable and accessible loan capital is critical to small businesses and central to the mission of Pathway Lending. As a certified Community Development Financial Institution, Pathway Lending’s mission is to provide loans to businesses lacking access to traditional financing, including Tennessee businesses in low- and moderate-income communities and those with female and minority owners.

In order to fulfill this mission, Pathway Lending takes a different approach to underwriting and looks at a wider range of criteria during the loan approval process. While we look at your credit score, it will not make or break your application. Pathway Lending also considers the character and capacity of the business’ management team, their collateral and ability to take on new debt, and the characteristics of the overall industry.

Our goal is to help small businesses overcome obstacles, take advantage of opportunities to grow, and create jobs in economically underserved communities across Tennessee. Visit our website www.pathwaylending.org or contact us at info@pathwaylending.org to learn more about our lending process.

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