Credit Enhancements: Seven Tips For Enhancing Business Credit Transactions


What are the avenues available to businesses with weak credit profiles or to companies pursuing credit transactions that are perceived as too risky by credit providers? Many companies apply for credit at banks, finance companies or equipment leasing firms and are routinely rejected due to the high degree of perceived credit risks. When approaching a credit provider, it is helpful to understand what can be done to reduce the risk of a credit transaction in the eyes of the provider. Never accept a credit rejection without considering credit enhancements. Here are a few tips on credit enhancement to help guide you in approaching the credit process:

1. Credit enhancements are modifications to credit transactions that improve the risk-reward relationship for credit providers. Enhancements can be real or merely perceived by the receiving party. Also, they can be tangible things like real estate and equipment or they can be intangibles like future rights or options.

2. Use credit enhancements to strengthen credit transactions and to improve pricing or terms. They may be used to entice credit providers to approve credit transactions that would otherwise be unacceptable because of the perceived risks. They can also encourage credit providers to make transaction approvals faster.

3. Credit enhancements usually fall within one of these general categories: improvement in credit terms favoring the credit provider; additional collateral; guarantees, insurance or third party assurances; increased pricing, compensation or upside gain potential; or granting of specific rights or options.

4. Some specific enhancements include: granting a security interest in additional equipment, real estate, inventory, accounts receivable, intellectual property rights or other company assets; pledging cash; pledging securities; third party guarantees; surety bonds; letters of credit; pledging cash value of insurance; increase in transaction rate; additional fees or other transaction compensation; shortening the term of certain transactions; granting first refusal rights on future transactions; permitting call options; obtaining re-marketing guarantees or agreements.

5. When considering using credit enhancements to improve your transactions, use these guidelines: try to get a fair and objective assessment of your credit profile and the inherent transaction risks from a knowledgeable credit person; take inventory of the possible credit enhancements your firm can provide; evaluate the cost of possible enhancements to decide whether using them will be worthwhile; if there is time and opportunity for a second chance to present your transaction to the credit provider, present it first without the credit enhancement or with the minimum enhancement you think acceptable; of the credit enhancements available to your firm, decide which ones will be effective and the degree of enhancement necessary to achieve your objectives.

6. It helps to develop a credit enhancement strategy in the planning stage of your transaction. Start by understanding the transaction's credit strengths and weaknesses. Decide which enhancements available to your firm will help strengthen the risk profile of the transaction. Try to assess the credit provider's sensitivity to various types and degrees of credit enhancement. Later, if the credit provider turns down your transaction or proposes unacceptable terms, ask the provider to suggest enhancements that will make a difference in the decision. You may be able to negotiate further, once you have this information.

7. All credit enhancements have a cost. In many instances the cost is the opportunity cost of not having the credit enhancement available for future use. Before offering or providing a credit enhancement, do a thorough cost-benefit analysis to make sure the potential benefit is worth the cost to your firm.

Though it is not always possible to enhance a credit to the satisfaction of credit providers, you should understand the value of credit enhancements and know when they may be useful. By carefully considering potential credit enhancements, you can often improve the pricing and terms of your firm's credit transactions. If your firm has a weak credit profile, use of a credit enhancement might make the difference between obtaining financing or being rejected.

George Parker is a Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. ("LTI"), responsible for LTI's marketing and financing efforts. A co-founder of LTI, Mr. Parker has been involved in secured lending and equipment financing for over twenty years. Mr. Parker is an industry leader, frequent panelist and author of several articles pertaining to equipment financing.

Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in direct equipment financing and vendor leasing programs for emerging growth and later-stage, venture capital backed companies. More information about LTI is available at: http://www.ltileasing.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

USG Amends Credit Line, Sees 'Challenging' 09; Shares Down
CNNMoney.com - 3 hours ago
(USG) amended its unsecured revolving credit facility, turning it into a secured line providing up to $500 million in credit with easier terms as the ...
Lenders give USG more breathing room Chicago Tribune
USG Corporation Amends Bank Agreement - Additional Step Further ... PR Newswire (press release)
all 9 news articles


S&P cuts credit ratings on PNC 1 notch
Forbes, NY - 4 hours ago
AP , 01.08.09, 08:26 AM EST Standard & Poor's has cut its investment-grade credit ratings on PNC Financial Services Group Inc. by one notch, ...
S&P Lowers Credit Ratings on PNC Wall Street Journal
Market Report -- In Play (PNC) MSN Money
all 25 news articles


Javno.hr

Loan Delinquencies Hit Record High Last Year
Washington Post, United States - 12 hours ago
By Nancy Trejos Delinquencies on auto loans and home equity lines of credit reached their highest levels on record during the third quarter of 2008, ...
Home-equity delinquencies at record level Newsday
Home-equity credit lince delinquencies rise MiamiHerald.com
US Lenders Pay As Idled Borrowers Don't Forbes
Minneapolis Star Tribune - U.S. News & World Report
all 63 news articles


ABC News

Stimulus Plan Would Expand Tax Credit for Poor
Wall Street Journal - 13 hours ago
The plan would grant an estimated 5.5 million poor children access to the credit for the first time, and expand the tax benefit for millions more poor ...
Video: Obama to Bring Accountability to Spending Plan AssociatedPress
The Case For Urgent Action Huffington Post
Lawmakers and Financial Experts Question Obama's Tax Cuts Washington Post
Seattle Times - Farm Futures
all 6,608 news articles


Homeowners May Apply For Homestead Tax Credit
Washington Post, United States - 10 hours ago
Montgomery County officials remind eligible residents to apply for the state's homestead property tax credit. Application forms were included in assessment ...


Knowing your FICO credit score
Boston Globe, United States - 2 hours ago
Many experts believe that borrowing will continue to be tight in 2009 unless the government does something to loosen the credit markets at the consumer ...
Fair Isaac inks deal with Romanian credit bureau Bizjournals.com
Biroul de Credit Brings FICO Credit Score to Romania WELT ONLINE
all 68 news articles


CBS News

Working Triage In The Credit Crisis
CBS News, NY - 17 hours ago
(CBS) The recession gets the credit for lower oil prices - and for more Americans falling behind on their loan payments. A new report says that, ...
More People Turn To Credit Counseling Services cbs4denver.com
When bank accounts are seized, take these 3 steps CreditCards.com
Buyers be wary of debt settlement offers Cherry Hill Courier Post
kwgn.com - The News Journal
all 19 news articles


Borse Dubai May Get $2.5 Billion Loan as Credit Eases
Bloomberg - 6 hours ago
Dubai’s biggest companies have refused to refinance their maturing loans in the past two months as lenders raised margins after the global credit crunch ...


Santander offers 4 bln euros credit to clients
Reuters - 4 hours ago
MC) said on Thursday that it has offered a 4 billion euro ($5.42 billion) credit line for its best self-employed clients and small and medium-sized ...


CEP News

Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies increase
Los Angeles Times, CA - 11 hours ago
By E. Scott Reckard Fewer Americans applied for mortgages last week and more have been missing payments on their home equity lines of credit, according to ...
Low rates get loans moving again Long Island Business News
Mortgage applications down, home-equity credit delinquencies up Los Angeles Times
all 68 news articles

Credit - Google News

home | site map
© myfinancialsolutiononline.com 2007