Your Business Loan

Your Business Loan

Selecting a lender can be as tedious and detailed a process as preparing a business plan or loan proposal. Many business owners and potential business owners are so concerned about being approved on a business loan that they forget the importance in selecting a lender.

If you already have a bank or credit union in which you have maintained a long-term relationship, it's logical to consider that particular financial institution when selecting a lender. Your bank that you currently use for personal and/or business accounts is very familiar with you and your financial history. If that history is positive, it could play in your favor. A large part of the lender's risk is the uncertainty regarding the loan repayment. By selecting a lender in which you already have a relationship, it can greatly reduce the uncertainty about your and your business, putting you in a better position of being approved for a loan. If you have a mortgage with a bank, that same bank is probably a good place to start inquiring about a business loan when you're focused on selecting a lender.

If you have reason not to use a lender in which you have a current or past relationship, consider selecting a lender who *wants* your loan business. Sources for these lenders can be found in the business section of your local newspaper for special financing offers. When selecting a lender in this nature, also consider searching both the yellow pages and the internet. Lenders that are actively looking for small businesses in need of loans often offer a quicker process of obtaining a loan than other lending institutions.

In the instance that you are a bank customer, consider a credit union when selecting a lender. Because credit unions are generally smaller, you may be able to talk directly with higher level decision makers to state your loan proposal. Larger banks tend to have more rigid rules and processes associated with small business loans. Even if the person you talk to regarding your business loan believes in you, he or she may not be able to help you other than to take your information and present it to the decision makers in writing.

Courts or tribunals

Courts or tribunals for trying 9/11 terrorists?
WASHINGTON — The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee.

Decatur's scar.

Decatur's scars still raw after 1999 expulsions
DECATUR, Ill. — For the people at the heart of an uproar a decade ago over the expulsions of six black boys from a Decatur high school, reminders of the national scrutiny the town endured and the divide the situation created are never far away.

Appeals court declines to revive suit filed by Wisconsin paper mill workers
Paper mill workers failed to support their contention that their employer is required to pay them for the time they spend showering and changing their clothes after their shifts, a federal appeals court has hel

Supreme Court May Hear 'Cat's Paw' Case


Employment lawyers are hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve a conflict in the federal circuits over the so-called cat's paw theory, which says that an employer is liable for discrimination when a final decision-maker is influenced by a lower-level employee with discriminatory motives to take an adverse action against another worker. The Court earlier this month asked the solicitor general for the government's views on a case that raises the theory, and is now considering whether to hear the case.