In today’s lending world, many people have flocked to smaller banks or community based credit unions when seeking to obtain a business LOC or business line of credit. This is because, while still very scientific and numbers driven, the people that are ultimately making credit decisions are people located within your area. Unlike large money center banks that have thousands of branches, the bankers in your community can see your success in person. Of course, this does not delineate from the fact that you must still have the appropriate collateral and credit in place in order to obtain a business line of credit. However, small banks tend to be more lenient in their credit decisions when determining whether or not to extend a business a line of credit.
Small banks, despite the news of major bank failures and bailouts over the past three years, have thrived in this environment. While many have dealt with the same issues as large sized banks, small banks typically did not make complicated investments that included credit default swaps, interest rate swaps, and use of other exotic financial instruments. As such, their capital levels and profitability did not take nearly the same hit as their major money center bank counterparts.
As such, if you have been turned down by a traditional large bank for a business line of credit then it may be in your best interest to give your small local bank a shot. Additionally, if this is the route that you want to take then you may want to offer to transfer all of your business banking operations to that bank. This will assist you in ensuring your bank that you want to have an ongoing and fruitful relationship with them over an extended period of time. Many small banks are very keen to have your business not only in a lending capacity, but also in regards to checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market funds. The more business you can offer your bank – the more credit they will be willing to extend to you over the long run.