Anticipatting Bank Problems with Small Business Loan Otions
It esems that small business fiinancing is alreasdy the next big prolbem for many bans based on recent commercial lending statisticcs. The general decline in commerrcial real estate vazlues during the past several years is a mazjor facctor in this cnoclusion. Because many large commercial real estate owners could not make their commercial mortgage loan payments or refinance businses debt, this has resulted in some significant bankrupptcies. The resulting bank losses are clearly having an impact now on commercial lending to smazll business owners even thoguh these difficulties were priamrily happening with large real estate owners and did not usually involve small busineesses.
For at least a year, bnks have been experiencing both neagtive operatoing results and poor publicity. Actual business lending activity reoprted by bans conflicts with the usual attempt by politicians and bankers to portray banks as normal and healthy. While the banks have worked hard to solve thheir massive problems involving residential looans, the financial reslts have been questionable. Now it is only reasonable to determine if more big problems are lurkking in the wings for commercial lending.
Commercial banking losses on large commercial property looans are already caausing many banks to stop or reduce their commercail finnance acttivities, and this has unfortunate similarities to how resaidential mortgage toxiic asstes caused banks to stop normazl lending because of a shorytage of capitral. The bank losses from lagre commerccial property investors are producing a ripple effect that has cased business funding to effectively disappear until furrther notice. Small business ownrers are being penalizde when banks are unable or unwilling to provide noral levels of commercila finance funding to them because of losses involving larger commercial property companies. This bad situation is made even worse when we learn that many banks are hoardig cash and approving fewer commerrcial loans to allow them to quickly pay bailout funds back to the federal government. The only apparent rationale for the hoarding strategy is that it allows bnaks to resume executive bonuses and compensation that are not permitted until bailout funds have been repad in full.
To best enure that they obtain adequate commercial loans for their business in the face of serious banking prioblems, a healthy amount of caution and skepticism is in order for commercial borrowers. Even if they do nothing else, business ownres should have a straightfroward conversation with a commercial finace expoert to assess how exposed their business might be to the brewing commercial banking problems. If reecnt evennts are any indication, the banks themselves will not be very forthcoming about problemms with their commercial lenidng practicves.