Wednesday, 04 February 2009 00:00

You don’t have to take it from us that it is important to investigate multiple banks when pursuing your business loan. Take it from a guy who was a commercial banker for 30 years. The New York Times recently interviewed former banker Bob Seiwert who is now the senior vice president for a trade group in Washington. Seiwert strongly urged small business to not only maintain a strong, positive relationship with your bank, but to always have a good back up. Don’t assume your bank is the best place to receive your loan.

“Many banks offer small-business loans, but they don’t specialize in them. And some banks only specialize in small-business loans to certain industries. So ask the bankers if they would be open to extending credit to your business, and if so, under what terms. You may find that the loan window is open for you, and you may find that it’s not.”

It’s also easy to let the constant talk of the credit crunch and slipping economy allow you to believe there is simply no money out there—especially if you are a small business. The truth is, there is money out there; it’s just important to know exactly how the credit crunch has affected a given bank, because these effects most definitely vary.

“But the important thing to understand is that there are 8,000 banks in this country, and most of them are well capitalized and open for business.”

MoneyPath can help you find not only those banks that are well capitalized and open for business, but also those banks that specialize in your particular business needs.