Radon test. Check. Utility bills. Check. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Check. On went the list, like seven-card stud — condo docs, insurance coverage, chimney inspection — check, check, and check. We were all over it. Each time they raised the bet, we covered. The result? There were no contingencies last month when the high […]
What kind of impression do your financial statements convey to your financing sources? Beyond the actual financial results, a disorganized chart of accounts may be providing unintended insights into your management savvy and level of sophistication, causing your banks and investors to discount your numbers. It may be time to declutter.
It’s a new ball game in the world of small business bank lending. Like their dot-com predecessors, bankers today have found out that it’s not the size of their loan portfolio that makes the difference. It’s not about how much business a loan officer can bring into the bank. It’s not even about how profitable that business might be in terms of add-on fees, swaps, or contingent financing premiums. Instead, stimulated by the prospect of federal and state oversight, the banks are retooling with a model right out of the mid-’80s. They’re going back to Banking Basics 101.
“Too big to fail” is what they said. Then they started tumbling: Bear Stearns, AIG, Lehmann Brothers, WaMu, Wachovia. So what’s next? Where do you put your operating cash when only the first $250,000 is insured? And where do you go to finance your growth? What is there to bank on these days?