Financier risk goes to the heart of obtaining debt that is appropriate to the core funding requirement of a borrower. It comes with many levels, with each needing careful consideration by borrowers (and/or their brokers) in order to minimise the risk in a funding situation. So, to protect themselves, borrowers must determine:
This is a very important question, yet unfortunately a lot of borrowers do not spend enough time considering it within their haste to satisfice (yes, satisfice) their way to a debt solution.
So borrowers should in fact be asking key questions such as: How is the financier funded? Do they have their own capital? Is it already raised, or will they seek to raise it? Is it a short-term wholesale funding solution that is subsequently sold to another lender? By taking the time to thoroughly understand the financier, a borrower can considerably reduce financier risk.
A lot of comfort can be gained from seeing a financier’s proven track record. There are countless examples of financiers who seek to materially change terms at the last moment, and/or who use law firms who are not commercial in their approach to loan and security documentation – needless to say, these cause significant frustrations for borrowers. Best to avoid financiers with such habits.
Will the financier turn the tap on when it suits them, yet leave borrowers (and sometimes even whole geographies) high and dry when Mummy and Daddy calls them back home….? This is obviously another important consideration when determining financier risk.
These 4 key areas should be the basis of every borrower’s fundamental analysis prior to committing to a financier, in order to minimise financier risk, and therefore ensure the best possible funding experience.
Responsible lending is not just about ensuring the borrower is able to repay the debt – that is a baseline given (if you care about the borrower!). As a broker, it is also about ensuring you are not feeding a borrower to a charlatan or a shark. The fact that there are financiers in the market describing themselves as “loan to own” is alarming, and emphasises the need for parties (such as Balanz) to act on behalf of borrowers to thoroughly, appropriately and continuously assess financier risk.
Within Balanz, there are many different numbers we could be tracking, but we have our eyes clearly set on one number – the number of our clients in financial difficulty. We do everything we can to ensure that number is as close to zero as possible. We know it is not fun to be in financial distress, and conversely, we know the pride, joy and fun associated with doing well. Ensuring a finance partner is chosen (for borrowers) with due and appropriate consideration of financier risk is a key part of lending responsibly, and therefore is a core focus of each and every Balanz team member for ALL of our clients.
So you’ve chosen a financier with appropriate finance risk – step 1 completed. But it doesn’t stop there. The next key question is: How should you proactively manage the risk particular to that financier?
Now that’s a whole other story…
Balanz – Your Partner in Business Finance
w balanz.com.au a 1/220 Boundary Street Spring Hill Qld
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2020 Balanz Pty Ltd ABN 56 167 363 411
Credit Representative 453982 is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328
Disclaimer: Your full financial situation would need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product
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