“Asset Based Lending Has Become a Necessity For Many Small And Medium Sized Businesses”

The recent recession has elevated the importance of the asset based lending market, creating both higher supply and demand in the process.

Asset based lending has a number of different slices,  but essentially we’re talking about lenders that have a primary focus on the asset resale or liquidation value for determining loan amounts and security ratios.

Surprisingly to some, major banks also house asset based lending divisions to focus on providing higher leverage to companies with well established cash flows.  The bank version of asset based loans are also priced off of the prime rate, making them very rate attractive compared to more conventional asset based lenders.

The growth of this business financing segment has been built on the ultra conservative approach being taken by banks and other institutional lenders.  A large chunk of debt financing has traditionally come from small business and corporate banking where the strength and steady advancement of the economy were factored into the lending equation.

But when things turn bad, banks tend to have a harder time realizing on security and getting full loan repayment from asset liquidation.  Banks are also not set up to monitor business operations as closely as asset based lenders tend to monitor transactions versus collecting periodic financial reporting.

The extra steps taken by asset based lenders to manage lending risk creates additional cost which is another reason why traditional asset based lending is more expensive.

But even with a higher cost of financing across the board for most asset based loans, business owners are lining up to pay more for their debt financing requirements.   And the reason is quite simple.  In many cases an asset based loan is all that’s available at the present time.

From a lender point of view, there are more asset based sources entering the market, especially in terms of private mortgage lenders.  As the affluent baby boomers grow older, asset based lending provides an alternative to the stock market with solid potential returns and underlying security to protect the investment.

Because corporate or bank financing has contracted for the time being, asset based lenders are also getting a higher quality deal flow than they would normally expect to see, creating competition among lenders for the better deals.

This has resulted in better pricing for the better deals with asset based rates getting close to bank rates in some cases.

Asset based loans have also become a transition step to the future as well.  Any business that has suffered through the recent down turn, is trying to expand for growth, or going through ownership transition is likely going to have to look to an asset based loan in the short term.   Once earnings stability can be established, they will look to move to lower cost traditional options.

But in the mean time, even at a higher cost, asset based loans are providing essential capital for business operations.

Click Here To Speak To Business Financing Specialist Brent Finlay