Talking to a Banker

The world of lending has changed significantly in the last ten years. The process of talking to your lender for commercial financing has also developed its own character. Banks are no longer managed from a local branch. They are managed from lending centres. These centres have access to data that your commercial venture must measure up to.

Ten years ago a commercial / business customer would develop a relationship with a loan officer or branch manager. Today the commercial / business customer develops a rapport with a customer service rep, relationship manager or personal banker. As friendly as these folks are they are not decision makers. They may have lending limits or authority to make loans up to $25,000 or even $50,000 but not much higher than that.

Therefore your approach to speaking to a lender must be placed in context of what they can do. They can advocate for you with the decision makers at the higher levels. In order for you to have a successful application you must understand that the person sitting in front of you has minimum requirements that must be achieved before they send the application up to the decision maker. of the same requirements as the Bank but we are focused on creating a bridge between you and the lending institution.

Good Luck!