'MUSTS' for Business Development

A sales effort is necessary for business survival. Motivating potential customers is essential for the business cycle to keep spinning. Banking, however, isn't like selling single ticket items. Business banking inherently represents an ongoing relationship between outfit and financial resource. The common goals: promote healthy operations and foster growth. And how do you partner with winning businesses? - Find them. Intermingle with them.

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Managing Your SBA Portfolio

It's easy to get into a habit that earns revenue on the front end. Closing loans is great for the books, but managing your loan portfolio after the fact is critical to your bottom line. Many financial institutions focus their efforts on booking and closing their SBA loans. Yet they let critical servicing responsibilities fall through - a bad habit that can put their SBA loan programs at risk. Disbursed loan funds not following the Authorization, failure to review current financial statements, letting Express loans mature without renewal... will lead to losses and denied SBA guarantees.

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Doing Business - and Business Lending - in Tough Times

We're in turbulent times. With the stock market fluctuating hourly and the global economy struggling to right itself, you have little control over the economy or your possible loss of revenue during this crisis. There are encouraging signs. The Treasury Department's disbursement this week from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to banks across the country will ease the credit crunch, and you'll be better able to lend. The housing market has taken a slight up-tick. And now there's the Fed's half-percentage point rate cut. Encouraging signs yes, but we know that climbing out of this crisis will take us well into 2009 and beyond.

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Turbulent Times: Time for Credit Union SBA Lending!

We're certainly in turbulent times. With the stock market fluctuating hourly and the global economy struggling to right itself, what are the prospects for America's credit unions? They're good. As you may know, history tells us that times of economic turmoil are growth times for credit unions. From 1936 to 1941 the nation's number of credit unions doubled and membership tripled, while other financial institutions across the country failed.

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SBA Lending: Time to Jump In!

Member business loans are the fastest growing category for credit unions. The latest Callahan data shows member business loans up 18.1 percent, outpacing all other loan categories to reach $24.6 billion at mid-year. The reasons: In this economy, entrepreneurial small businesses are growing fast. Baby boomers not ready to retire, executive women weary of the glass ceiling, Gen Y'ers who see their parents go through mergers and downsizing - and the parents themselves - are establishing businesses.

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SBA Lending: Great Opportunity!

Member business loans are the fastest growing category for credit unions. The latest Callahan data shows member business loans up 18.1 percent, outpacing all other loan categories to reach $24.6 billion at mid-year. The reasons: In this economy, entrepreneurial small businesses are growing fast. Baby boomers not ready to retire, executive women weary of the glass ceiling, Gen Y'ers who see their parents go through mergers and downsizing - and the parents themselves - are establishing businesses.

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J.R. Bruno & Associates Expands

The company responsible for the most proficient model of small business lending consultation is growing. Personnel additions at J.R. Bruno & Associates have created extra resources, mobility, and effectiveness behind the doors of its nearly virtual operation. Rebecca Mendoza and Ryan Coughlin join the firm's Southern California office, and Staci Sheehan oversees the newly opened East Coast office, operating out of Boston.

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SBA Workouts and Liquidation

SBA workout, liquidation, and collateral exhaustion processes are clearly defined; however the SBA's role in directing them has diminished. In January 2004, the SBA centralized its portfolio of 7a liquidations loans at the Herndon National Purchase Center in Herndon, VA. As part of this centralization, the SBA reduced its direct efforts throughout the liquidation process. This puts additional pressure on Lenders to take full control over their troubled SBA loans.

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Seeing the Downside: Importance of an Exit Strategy for SBA Lenders

Understanding exposure and mitigating market risks - both direct and indirect - is as crucial now as it has ever been in our documented economic history. Several experts say that we are in a recession. This statement can't be made official until additional figures are posted and corroborated. (Consumer Spending, Inverted Yield Curve, Rising Unemployment & Inflationary Pressure being the four key elements). Regardless of the technical ruling, it's obvious that times are tough. The carry over effect between business and consumer is normally direct (i.e. businesses and individuals go through recessions together).

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Profitability in Small Business Lending

Home foreclosure rates and delinquency notices are continuing to rise. In May of 2007, they're 90% higher than '06. Refinance rates have stopped falling, but show no sign of improving in the near future. Nearly every major financial institution has discussed that their credit standards are tightening. Home inventories are rising in every market as prices decline. All of these factors point to the fact that profits associated with mortgage lending will continue to drop in the near future.

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The SBA Gives Back to Veterans

SBA Lending is more than just 504's! To prove it, the SBA has added a new program called the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative to help veterans and members of the military looking to start or expand small businesses.

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We're Ready For An SBA Audit Even if You Aren't

There's no avoiding it. Sooner or later you will encounter the stark reality of an SBA lender over-site audit.

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Announcing Addition to GAP Team

J.R. Bruno & Associates is pleased to announce the addition of Alicia Moselle to our GAP Team. She will be providing lending services throughout the Tri-Counties (Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles) area.

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Efficiency Through Effecting Change

In any system, there are bottlenecks that reduce output. Do you know where those points are in your loan department? If you don't, you should; if you do know, what have you done about it? Consider this: an investigation into your workflow and procedures by an objective third party can provide a fresh perspective, and may uncover issues that need to be resolved.

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Getting your SBA License: Easier than you think!

Many institutions have eased into small business lending with real estate loans and small credit lines. If you're interested in taking the next step and pursuing SBA lending, the first place to start is with your SBA (License) application. You may have heard that it's tough for smaller credit unions to get, or that there are onerous restrictions on new lenders. Not true! The application can be broken down into two parts: the questionnaire, and the documentation.

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Advantages of SBA Lending

Member Business Lending can be one of the most profitable segments of a Credit Union's business. It carries, however, some significant risks along with those rewards. SBA Lending is great tool for Credit Unions, of any size, to mitigate those risks, and add some additional rewards. We have detailed here some of these benefits.

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Beat the Clock

Credit Unions across the nation are investigating business lending. Some have included business services in their strategic plan, or are planning to get into it "next year" or "in the future." Others have approval from their boards and may be licensed with the SBA, but have done little to move forward. There are also those who have started the process but have failed to see loans materialize. If your credit union fits one of these descriptions, read on.

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Business Lending: What will it cost me?

As business lending consultants, one of the questions we hear most often is also one of the toughest to answer definitively: what will it cost my credit union to get started? The two biggest variables that will influence your startup costs are: how much can you do with what you have, and, how much do you want to outsource?

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The Pitfalls of Business Lending

In the first year of operation, commercial lending products can earn between 30 and 50 percent returns. Not surprisingly, many credit unions are turning to member business lending and SBA lending to restore profitability, especially as consumer loan growth continues to dwindle. What is it that separates successful business lenders from other credit unions? Two things: a commitment to building and maintaining solid relationships with members and an in-depth knowledge of small business lending.

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Professional Partnering

Professional partnering is an excellent way for Credit Unions to reach out to their communities. One opportunity is the relationship between a Credit Union and the local Certified Public Accountants (CPA's).

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Small Business Lending and the CUSO

Credit Unions across the country are looking at ways to enter Member Business Lending. One way that is generating attention is to form a CUSO. A big advantage can be the sharing of costs -- partnering with another credit union can lower many of the costs associated with developing a business lending program.

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Adding SBA to your MBL

Is your Credit Union considering Member Business Lending? Many Credit Unions are investigating their options and evaluating their goals and strategy, while others is content to dabble in commercial real estate. Whether you are just looking to MBL or have already set a plan in motion, consider the US Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program. A SBA loan program can make a good MBL department great.

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Marketing your Program Through the Community

One of the key differences separating successful business lending programs from those going nowhere is marketing. Often we speak to credit unions that sent their staff to training seminars, invested money in software, and developed infrastructure to pursue business lending, only to find that they have no loans to support these new expenditures. Why don't they have loans? Frequently, the answer is a lack of marketing.

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The Value of Partnerships

Partnership. Cooperation. Business lending. These three words are not often seen together. Credit Unions, however, renowned for cooperative efforts and the ability to forge partnerships are changing that.

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Participation Considerations

There is no doubt that business lending is one of the hot button issues for 2004. The NCUA, the US Small Business Administration, and all of the trade organizations have weighed in with ideas, opinions, and rulings designed to help Credit Unions down the path to offering small business loans. But, business lending is not a simple process; it takes careful planning and expertise.

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