fincare small finance bank

An earlier article noted that business financing is effectively on life support based on recent reports of reduced business loans made by banks throughout the country. There are several reasons why intensive care comparisons might help to explain what is wrong with working capital financing and at the same time provide a healthy prognosis for impacted businesses. Because commercial financing is proving to be a serious challenge for most small business owners, this analysis should be reviewed by any borrower about to obtain or refinance commercial loans.

During the past two years, banks have lost much credibility and good will. Until the federal government provided massive bailouts for many of them, most of these lenders were on life support themselves. While some of the banks have recovered, others are effectively still in the intensive care process. But whether we are reviewing the healthy banks or ones still recovering, working capital financing for most small businesses is predominantly in what appears to be long-term intensive care. Banks are generally reducing or eliminating a large portion of their business financing activities, as indicated from most ongoing public and private reports. For example, with little or no advance notice, most banks appear to be closing commercial line of credit programs for small businesses regardless of profitability or length of the lending relationship. This is apparently not a temporary move to the sidelines but rather a permanent reallocation of resources to more profitable activities based on the manner in which this is being accomplished.

Lending activity has also decreased significantly for other forms of business financing such as commercial mortgage loans. Commercial loans have essentially been downsized or laid off just as many workers have. The realization that banks are rarely announcing publicly that these cutbacks have occurred is what makes this situation different. Perhaps bankers like to think that when they stop making small business loans nobody will notice. When it becomes public knowledge that their small business lending window is effectively closed, the bankers who placed commercial financing into intensive care are astute enough to realize that their public image will suffer even further damage.

Before they realize that the business financing world has changed before their eyes, it is possible that small business owners might need to connect several dots. As this article and other reviews indicate, banks are simply no longer providing the commercial loan services that they once did. Commercial borrowers should primarily rely on extensive candid discussions with other small business customers of the bank to confirm whether their bank is one of the few exceptions to this new reality. Even in the rare instances in which banks are truly lending “normally” to small businesses, the prevailing trend of less working capital financing coming from traditional banks should not be ignored.

While business financing patients (commercial borrowers) might be in serious condition when they find that their bank will not provide needed commercial loans, experienced small business finance specialists can frequently help in restoring financial health that will facilitate a business getting out of an intensive care situation. In some cases, this involves finding a healthy bank that is willing (and able) to provide “normal” commercial loans and working capital financing. For successful commercial funding it will be necessary to explore non-bank solutions in many other instances.

Canadian business, during its search for new and innovative financing solutions keeps hearing about asset loans and accounts receivable financing solutions. These two types of financing for Canadian business owners and financial managers are a subset of what is known as an asset based line of credit.

The financing is newer to Canada, growing in traction and popularity, and still widely misunderstood as a total financing strategy for your company. Let’s clarify some of those myths and explore some of the benefits of these terms.

One of the main differences of an asset loan is that typically is financed through a non bank arrangement. You should seek this type of loan if you are unable to generate sufficient working capital to finance your business in a traditional Chartered bank environment in Canada.

In essence your receive financing and operating facilities, depending on how they are structured, around the various asset categories of your business – the two main asset categories are:

Accounts receivable

Inventory

In many circumstances you can also leverage equipment, and occasionally real estate.Clients then ask us why this is different from what they are used to – which is bank financing around these same assets. The answer is that a very strong focus is placed on the true underlying value of your assets – less reliance is placed on balance sheet rations, loan covenants, outside collateral, etc.

Most leases and operating facilities in a traditional bank environment are very cash flow focused. The irony of these types of calculations is very evident to the business borrower – that irony being that historical cash flow is used to forecast future cash repayment abilities. That quite often doesn’t work for many companies who are experiencing temporary challenges.

Asset loans, and asset based lines of credit focus on the collateral. Many clients we deal with have the collateral in A/R, inventory, purchase orders and new contracts, equipment, etc but can’t satisfy traditional cash flow lending requirements. That is why they are prime candidates for an asset loan, an asset based line of credit, or at its simplest and most basic form, a receivable financing that fully margins their accounts receivable with no set limit on future growth.

So now we understand what the facility is. How does it work on a day to day basis our clients ask? The answer is simply that it’s a facility that goes up and down, frankly every day, with your borrowing needs. As your receivables and inventory fluctuate you draw down against their current value. This optimizes the amount of cash flow and working capital available for sales growth and profit generation.

The security mechanisms around these facilities are very similar to any type of bank financing – that is to say that a first charge lien is placed on the assets being financed. Advances rates on accounts receivable and inventory are established and as cash is advanced and then repaid by your customers the cash is turned over to pay down your revolving balance. It’s as simple as that. The true beauty of the facility is that as you grow your facility grows with you – that is probably the most powerful aspect of such a financing.

These working capital facilities, predominately A/R an inventory based are becoming more traditional in nature ever day. Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced advisor in this area – if you are not getting the financing you need to grow and prosper competitively then this type of solution may be exactly hat you are looking for.