Triodos to raise €90m for ethical lending

Triodos Bank has announced plans to issue €90 million of new shares.

Money raised from the shares will be used to provide loans to sustainable projects.

Set up in 1980, Netherlands-based Triodos provides loans to environmentally-friendly projects such as wind farms and organic agriculture.

Since the credit crunch, the company has seen an upsurge in interest in its sustainable approach to banking.

Customer numbers at the bank have increased by almost a fifth (18%) since January this year.

“If nothing else, the financial crisis has taught us that it pays to choose sustainable”, said chief executive Peter Blom.

Blom added that the money raised from the share issue will allow the bank to increase its lending.

“New capital will enable us to lend to even more to sustainable projects and companies”, he said.

“Our growth is faster than foreseen; we continue to thrive despite the financial crisis, and have no shortfall of capital.

“This year we have grown faster than ever before, with more than an 18% increase in our customer numbers since January 2009.”

Triodos has 12,000 shareholders, around half of whom are individual investors.

Triodos to raise €90m for ethical lending

Triodos Bank has announced plans to issue €90 million of new shares.

Money raised from the shares will be used to provide loans to sustainable projects.

Set up in 1980, Netherlands-based Triodos provides loans to environmentally-friendly projects such as wind farms and organic agriculture.

Since the credit crunch, the company has seen an upsurge in interest in its sustainable approach to banking.

Customer numbers at the bank have increased by almost a fifth (18%) since January this year.

“If nothing else, the financial crisis has taught us that it pays to choose sustainable”, said chief executive Peter Blom.

Blom added that the money raised from the share issue will allow the bank to increase its lending.

“New capital will enable us to lend to even more to sustainable projects and companies”, he said.

“Our growth is faster than foreseen; we continue to thrive despite the financial crisis, and have no shortfall of capital.

“This year we have grown faster than ever before, with more than an 18% increase in our customer numbers since January 2009.”

Triodos has 12,000 shareholders, around half of whom are individual investors.

Fox News Attacks US Loans to Fisker and Tesla

to Fox News, the US Department of Energy threw away nearly $1 billion in loans to Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors—two Calif.-based auto startups trying to produce the next generation of American-made energy-efficient cars. On several of its shows, including America's Newsroom and Your World, Fox News criticized the loans because Fisker and Tesla currently produce expensive cars that are made in Europe.

Moreover, Fox insinuated that Fisker received the DOE loan because of its connection with former vice-president and global warming activist Al Gore. America's Newsroom co-host Martha MacCallum said: "Listen to this. The US government is making a $529 million loan to a small car company that happens to be backed by former Vice President Al Gore. Get this. It's called the Karma. It's a hybrid. It's built by Fisker Automotive. The price tag for this greenmobile is about $89,000."

During the segment, on-screen text read, "Americans Fund Car Co That Will Create Jobs...In Finland.”

Fox News contributor Stephen Moore stated, "I think most of the people watching this show, I think, would question the wisdom of the Department of Energy giving out these grants in the first place. But I think the vast, vast majority of Americans would say, at least if we do it, find an American company that's going to employ American workers to do this."

While the all-electric Tesla Roadster is currently being built in England, and components of the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid are made in Finland, Fox neglected to fully explain that the loans will be used to establish US manufacturing facilities for more affordable future models.

The DOE loan will support Fisker engineering work to be conducted at the company's Pontiac, Mich. office, with support from its Irvine, Calif. headquarters. Fisker estimates that it will produce 75,000 to 100,000 of a more affordable plug-in hybrid—about $45,000—every year beginning in late 2012. DOE officials said they spent months working with Fisker on its application, touring its Irvine and Pontiac facilities and test-driving prototypes.

Tesla received a $465 million government loan to support production of its Model S—expected to sell for around $55,000. Production is scheduled to begin in 2011 and ramp up to 20,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2013. The new manufacturing facility is expected to create 1,000 jobs in Southern California. The rest of the loan will support a new facility to manufacture battery packs and electric drivetrains, employing about 650 people in Northern California."

Your World host Neil Cavuto acknowledged, “Some of that cash will go toward building cars here, but that is years down the road."

Fisker's top investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a veteran Silicon Valley venture-capital firm of which Gore is a partner. Employees of KPCB have donated more than $2.2 million to political campaigns, mostly for Democrats, including President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Congress established the $25 billion alternative vehicle loan program during former President George Bush’s administration in 2007 to provide incentives for automakers to invest in green technology. The DOE has awarded $8 billion to Ford and Nissan. The low-cost loans will carry a discounted interest rate of about 5 percent. Automakers have up to 25 years to repay the money.

Gore-Backed Car Firm Gets Large U.S. Loan

WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000.

The award this week to California startup Fisker Automotive Inc. follows a $465 million government loan to Tesla Motors Inc., purveyors of a $109,000 British-built electric Roadster. Tesla, like Fisker, is a California startup focusing on high-end hybrids, with a number of celebrity endorsements that is backed by investors that have contributed to Democratic campaigns.

The awards to Fisker and Tesla have prompted concern from companies that have had their bids for loans rejected, and criticism from groups that question why vehicles aimed at the wealthiest customers are getting loans subsidized by taxpayers.

"This is not for average Americans," said Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, an anti-tax group in Washington. "This is for people to put something in their driveway that is a conversation piece. It's status symbol thing."

DOE officials spent months working with Fisker on its application, touring its Irvine, Calif., and Pontiac, Mich., facilities and test-driving prototypes.

Matt Rogers, who oversees the department's loan programs as a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, said Fisker was awarded the loan after a "detailed technical review" that concluded the company could eventually deliver a highly fuel-efficient hybrid car to a mass audience. Fisker said most of its DOE loan will be used to finance U.S. production of a $40,000 family sedan that has yet to be designed.

"It's the ability to drive significant change in fuel economy across a large market segment" that swayed the department to approve the Fisker loan, Mr. Rogers said. "We got quite excited."

Henrik Fisker, who designed cars for BMW, Aston Martin and Tesla before starting his Fisker Automotive in 2007, said his goal is to build the first plug-in electric hybrids that won't sacrifice the luxury, performance and looks of traditional gas-powered luxury cars.

The Karma will target an exclusive audience -- Gore was one of the first to sign up for one. Mr. Fisker says all new technology starts out being expensive. He pointed to flat-screen televisions that once started at $25,000 but are now affordable to the mass market.

The four-door Karma, powered by a lithium-ion battery, will be able to run solely on electric power for 50 miles, and will achieve an average fuel economy of 100 mpg over the span of a year, the company says. Production is scheduled to start in December, with about 15,000 vehicles a year expected to hit the U.S. market starting next June.

Many of the 1,500 people who have made deposits on the Karma are former BMW and Mercedes owners who want an environmentally friendly car without sacrificing luxury, Mr. Fisker said.

He said he pitched the Karma to Mr. Gore at an event hosted by KPCB last year, and that the former vice president almost immediately submitted a down payment for the car.

Kalee Kreider, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gore, confirmed that the former vice president backs Fisker and purchased a Karma. "He believes that a global shift of the automobile fleet toward electric vehicles, accompanying a shift toward renewable-energy generation, represents an important part of a sensible strategy for solving the climate crisis," she said in a statement.

Fisker's top investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a veteran Silicon Valley venture-capital firm of which Gore is a partner. Employees of KPCB have donated more than $2.2 million to political campaigns, mostly for Democrats, including President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign contributions.

Officials at Kleiner Perkins didn't return requests for comment.

Asked whether Mr. Gore had any influence on Fisker's application, the DOE's Rogers said, "None at all."

"This is a very attractive, very across-party-lines kind of vehicle," Mr. Rogers said. "All of the detailed due diligence [was] done by independent review teams."

Other Fisker investors include Eco-Drive (Capital) Partners LLC, an investment consortium, and Qatar Investment Authority, a state-run investor based in Qatar.

Fisker's government loans will come from a $25 billion program established by Congress in 2007 to help auto makers invest in the technology to meet a new congressional mandate to improve fuel efficiency. In June, the DOE awarded the first $8 billion from the program to Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Tesla, which are all developing electric cars.

Some companies that have been turned down for loans from DOE say they did not get much feedback from the department about their applications. O. John Coletti, president of EcoMotors International of Troy, Mich., said his company applied for a $20 million loan from the agency last December, and last month got a one-page rejection letter from the loan program's director, Lachlan Seward. EcoMotors' lead investor is Vinod Khosla, himself a former Kleiner Perkins partner and a longtime campaign contributor to Republicans and Democrats alike.

"I don't have an issue with the winners … it's possible somebody has better ideas than us," Mr. Coletti said. At the same time, he said, "More feedback from DOE on a timely basis would be wonderful. When you're running a business you'd like to know whether you're going to be able to take advantage of this opportunity."

Mr. Coletti's company -- which makes diesel engines and is still waiting to hear from the Department on a separate loan application to help it build a manufacturing facility -- isn't without politically well-connected patrons, either. Its major investor is Vinod Khosla, himself a former Kleiner Perkins partner who has donated to campaigns.

Scott Redmond, CEO of XP Vehicles Inc., said he met with DOE officials twice in Washington after applying for a $40 million loan to develop a $15,000 to $25,000 hybrid, and that both times he was told his application looked good. Since receiving a rejection letter from DOE in August, Redmond said, he has been unable to get a full explanation as to why his request was turned down.

Mr. Rogers said he was not at liberty to discuss individual applications that had been turned down, but said the process has been handled fairly and objectively.

Top 10 Benefits Of A Personal Loan

The following article presents the very latest information on high risk personal loans. If you have a particular interest in personal loans, then this informative article is required reading.

There are many uses for personal loans, ranging from small loan amounts to larger loans to cover expensive work such as a much-needed extension to the home, or to finance the purchase of a new car. The loan finding service will match your needs with the right product for you, it is quick, simple, free and carries now obligation. We’ve searched the whole market to bring you the best unsecured personal loans. All the Best Buys have low rates, helping you keep the cost of borrowing down. Personal loans make the most sense for people who want to repay something over a few years. If you only need the money over six months using your credit card probably makes more sense.

Fast Loans Assistant offers to help find cheaper personal loans. Cheaper personal loans can be searched for every borrower in the UK. We have access to UK lenders who will listen to your personal loans needs whatever they may be. Good or bad credit loans, with loans for homeowners or UK tenant loans, secured loans or unsecured. When you are looking for and comparing unsecured personal loans there are a number of things that you should look at. Firstly, and most obviously, you need to compare the interest rates being charged by various UK loan companies.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you’re fully informed about high risk personal loans, keep reading.

There is a great variety of different types of personal loans available. It can be perplexing when trying to decide which type of loan best fits your needs. New prevailing theory is to offer personal loans to a huge amount of consumers while throwing out credit check requirements. If you have past credit issues such as bankruptcy, auto repossessions, foreclosure, or other challenging credit circumstances you can learn more about bad credit personal loans.

So, qualifying for an unsecured loan at unsecured personal loans is simple and hassle free. Finance teams are different from other personal loans providers – the policy is to work as hard as possible for our customers – that way we keep you happy – and happy customers will use us again – simple. Finding loan information can be a time consuming process, especially if you want to make sure you are getting the best deal possible.

There are many different types of personal loans, before you jump right in, take a minute to find out the difference between fixed interest, variable, secured and unsecured loans. Quite often choosing the most appropriate type of loan will save you money. You can even access financial advice on matters pertaining to bad credit personal loan finances for a better understanding. Enjoy the convenience of applying for a loan at bad debt personal loans. Just to save your time and money we have simplified the whole loan application form.

When word gets around about your command of personal loan facts, others who need to know about high risk personal loans will start to actively seek you out.
About the Author:
Christopher is the author of this article. FastLoansAssistant.com help you to find and compare high risk personal loans and provides resources for I need a personal loan quick but I have bad credit. All links must be left unchanged.

How to Get The Best Equity Loan

An equity loan is a loan taken against the value of your home. These are also called "home equity loans" or just "equity loans". The purpose of an equity loan is to convert the value of your home into cash. If you can do this, you can spend the value of your home while still living in it. It's not free, of course, and you'll need to make sure that you repay the equity loan or you'll also lose your house. The trick, as it were, is finding the best equity loan.

Instructions

1. Step 1

Get an appraisal of your home. You'll need an appraisal of your home before you can even think about applying for the best equity loan on the market. The easiest way to do this is to call an appraiser and ask for a "comp" on your home. The appraiser will almost always do this for free. A "comp" gives you an estimate of your home's value based on other homes in your area similar to yours. It's not a full appraisal though.

2. Step 2

Check your credit score. Most people skip this step, but this is important. You'll need to check your credit score with the 3 big credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). If your credit score falls below 680, you may want to hold off on applying for any type of equity loan. You'll only get the best equity loan with a credit score of 720 or above.

You can try to increase your credit score by taking out small signature loans from your local bank and paying them back. Charging up a credit card and paying it off every month also helps to boost your score. If you're pretty close to the 720 mark, you may be able to ask for what's called a "rapid rescore" from your mortgage broker. This can boost your score anywhere from 30 to 50 or more points.

3. Step 3

Fill out numerous applications for an equity loan. Finding the best equity loan is going to be quite difficult if you only fill out 1 or 2 loan applications. If you find that your "comp" is more than what you currently owe on your home, and you have a credit score of 720 or above, you will have a lot of leeway in what you can qualify for.

Apply with at least 5 mortgage brokers that offer loans from different banks (you don't want the mortgage brokers to all have the same banks in their portfolio).

4. Step 4

Choose the lowest rate. The best equity loan is really the one with the lowest rate and the most flexibility. Avoid prepayment penalties, and any extra fees for carrying the loan. Also, try to find out up front whether your loan will be sold to another bank who may want to raise your rates (equity loans tend to be variable rate loans) after they purchase the loan.

Hints To Uncovering Rapid Pay Day Loans

To find an speedy payday advance it could seem totally hopeless but if you take a few minutes to review each of your choices you would find that it truly is much easier than you ever believed. The problem with not finding an instant paycheck advance is that you need to actually dedicate a bit of energy to homework. Believing that all paycheck advances are offered equally is going to be a huge mistake, you absolutely have to dedicate at a minimum a few moments of your energy to doing adequate investigations. Finding an instant cash advance could be a gigantic perk if you are tight for cash, and understanding that they are available to utilize will enable you to concentrate your energy on additional needs rather than finding money.

Many borrowers mistakenly assume that every paycheck advances are written equally. This is very essential when you are analyzing payday advances that will provide cash really speedily. Obviously the majority of paycheck advances are rapid, but not not every one is immediate check loans. To truly decide if the loan is truly an instant cash loan then you should make the time to ask queries. Making the effort to complete this would help you to carefully decide if the loan is actually an immediate payday advance.

The initial query that you should inquire to decide if it is an instant paycheck advance is exactly how much time the approval system requires. If you are informed that it could require many hours, or potentially overnight then this is a clear indicator that you are not working with an immediate cash advance. You should locate a loan that is accessible in a matter of moments, instead of demanding hours to complete. The greater the paperwork that is needed the more time it will take however, which will find you with the capability to ask precisely how much paperwork is required.

Online cash advances are generally the best for being immediate check loans. By using the instant loans online, you are capable to bypass a lot of the paperwork that would be required. If you stroll into a neighborhood cash loan business, you will generally need to bring a small pile of paperwork with you. This documentation needs to all be copied, verified and even filed up in order to determine if you are approved for the loan.

The span of time that is needed for an instant check loan must be lower than 10 minutes or about typically. A lot of buyers decide that their advances are granted much quicker, while it is plausible that a few advances could take longer to be approved you must not anticipate to wait for greater than one hour to have a response to your advance request. Requiring an excessive amount of time to have your application approved can cause a few complications that you are not ready to deal with, additionally it could as well cause huge complications when you are declined and have to begin seeking a different option to the payday loan.

Instant paycheck advances are a fabulous perk if they are used carefully. A thoroughly studied instant paycheck loan can be one of the greatest solutions for your brief financial needs that you potentially possess.

FOREX Loan

Realise your dreams

With a loan from FOREX Bank, you can realise your dream. It could be anything from taking your dream trip to buying the car you've been dreaming about for a long time. You can take the opportunity to renew yourself with a totally new wardrobe, or if you want to renovate your home you can add new paint or wallpaper and decorate with new furniture. You can also settle expensive older loans and credit card debt and thus reduce your monthly expenses.

It’s easy to take out a loan at FOREX Bank

Borrow up to SEK 200,000 without collateral. We will process your application within one day, and the money can be paid out to your bank account or at the closest FOREX Bank branch within one to two days. You choose a payback period between 5 and 10 years, and you can also take out FOREX Loan Protection for extra security. You can find more information and complete loan protection terms under FOREX Loan Protection.

Advantages of FOREX Loan

* Save money by paying off more expensive credits and loans with FOREX Loan
* No administration fee if you pay by direct debit
* The loan can be paid off at any time cost-free
*Favourable interest rates, currently 3.43% - 11.43%*

Fixed Rate Mortgage Loan

Fixed rate mortgage loans charge borrowers a fixed rate of interest for the loan throughout the period of repayment. Adjustable rate mortgage loans occur when the interest rate varies according to changes in the market.


Fixed rate mortgage loans prevail in various degrees in different parts of the world. In the United States, fixed rate loans are popular. In Canada, fixed rate loans are in a semi-fixed mode, with the fixed component confined to a limited period. In India, the fixed rate home loan is very popular. Mortgage loans are available for up to 30 years, as in the United States.

One of the most attractive features of the fixed rate mortgage loan is the relative safety it offers the borrower. The loan repayment would remain the same throughout the duration of the mortgage. Unlike the adjustable rate mortgage loan, where the repayment is prone to interest rates fluctuating up or down, the fixed rate mortgage is free from any change in interest rate.

Mortgage companies have pointed to the safe and steady aspect of the fixed rate mortgage with its "peace of mind" angle. There have been mixed opinions whether the fixed rate mortgage is more popular than the adjustable rate mortgage, as the profitability, or the lack of it, varies in different situations. The fixed rate mortgage offers early redemption within stipulations and is subject to penalties, if applicable.

Interest Rates

* In the United States, the prevalent fixed rate mortgage rates range between 5.4% and 6%.
* In India, the prevalent home loan rates range between 7.5% and 8%.
* In the UK, when interest rates rise, even the fixed rate mortgages are affected. Mortgage durations in the UK range from 6 months to a full lifetime.

Some leading mortgage companies:

* Citigroup
* Lloyds Group
* HSBC
* Merrill Lynch
* Prudential
* Pulte Homes

Fixed rate mortgages have undergone changes in various situations and have evolved over the years. Today, global companies are constantly improving their services with a customer oriented approach, as they optimize their offers to suit localized situations. As a result, a large number of products have flexible features that address the particular needs of the borrower, while assuring sufficient profitability to the lender.

What is Refund Anticipation Loan?

A refund anticipation loan (RAL) is a high interest rate short-term loan secured by a taxpayer’s expected tax refund, and designed to offer customers quicker access to funds than waiting for their tax refund

Source Wikipedia

What is Syndicated loan?

Syndicated lending is a form of lending in which a group of lenders collectively extend a loan to a single borrower. The group of lenders is called a syndicate. The loan is called a syndicated loan, in contrast to a bilateral loan, which is a loan made by a single lender to a single borrower. Syndicated loans are routinely made to corporations, sovereigns or other government bodies. They are also used in project finance and to fund leveraged buyouts.

Syndicated loans are primarily originated by banks, but a variety of institutional investors participate in syndications. These include mutual funds, collateralized loan obligations, insurance companies, finance companies, pension plans, and hedge funds.

Syndicate members play different roles. Some just lend money. Others also facilitate the process. It is common to speak of an arranger, lead bank or lead lender that originates the loan, forms the syndicate and processes payments. But several syndicate members may share these tasks. Syndications with two or more arrangers are not uncommon. In a world where bragging rights are important for securing future deals, a bank may be called an arranger for nothing more than contributing a large part of the loan.


Most syndicated loans are floaters, paying a spread over Libor, but other structures abound. Fixed-rate term loans, revolving lines of credit and even letters of credit are syndicated. Loans may be structured specifically to appeal to institutional investors. These might have two tranches:

a Tranch A structured as a typical bank loan, such as a floater or revolver, and offered to bank lenders, and

a Tranch B structured as a fixed-rate term loan and offered to non-bank institutional investors.

Loans can be underwritten or originated on a best efforts basis. In the former case, the arrangers commit to a particular sized loan. It is up to them to recruit enough syndicate members to secure that full amount. Should they fail, they make up the shortfall, extending a larger portion of the loan than they had perhaps wanted. With a best efforts deal, the arrangers try to recruit enough syndicate members to achieve a desired loan size. If they fail, however, the borrower simply receives a smaller loan than it had hoped for.

The borrower in a syndicated loan incurs two expenses. One is the interest on the loan. The other is fees. These can take various forms, depending on how the loan is structured. Fees may include an administration fee, upfront fee, underwriting fee, commitment fee, facility fee, utilization fee, etc.




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Syndicated loans, like most loans, pose credit risk for the lenders. This can be extreme, as with some leveraged buyouts or loans to some sovereigns. Credit risk is assessed as with any other bank loan. Lenders rely on detailed financial information disclosed by the borrower. As syndicated loans are bank loans, they have higher seniority in an insolvency than bonds.

Syndication has been used for decades on an as-needed basis by banks wanting to spread the risk of large loans. The market took off following the first, 1973, oil shock. As the price of oil skyrocketed, banks recycled deposits from oil exporting countries as syndicated loans to oil importing countries, especially less-developed countries in Latin America. The second oil shock, of 1981, and the Fed's experimentations with monetarism, caused interest rates to shoot up in the early 1980s. A number of less-developed countries—including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines and Venezuela—defaulted on their floating-rate loans. Former Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady spearheaded a bailout on behalf of the US Government. This combined considerable debt forgiveness with a repackaging of loans as bonds collateralized by US Treasuries. Called Brady bonds, these instruments were actively traded in a secondary market.


As the market for syndicated lending to less-developed countries dried up, Michael Milken was launching a wave of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) financed in part by syndicated loans. The market experienced retrenchment again as LBOs faltered, but syndicated lending entered the 1990s as a mature market serving a variety of sovereign and corporate borrowers.

During the 1990s, an active secondary market for syndicated loans emerged. This was fueled partly by the recession of 1991, which forced some banks to trim their balance sheets. Secondary market trading continued a convergence of the syndicated loan and bond markets. As those markets converge, the disparity in how they are regulated presents both opportunities and legal uncertainties. In the United States, most bonds are regulated under the 1933 Act and 1934 Act. Bank loans generally are not, and arrangers of syndicated loans invoke a number of exemptions under those acts to avoid regulation.

Twelve Tips for Getting Your Bank Loan Approved

Securing a bank loan to finance your small business is getting to be more difficult. Here are twelve basic steps you must take before going to the bank for a business loan.

Finding the money needed to start a new business is almost always one of the most difficult obstacles new owners face. The most likely (and easiest) sources of capital are your families, friends and own savings. However, you should not overlook institutional sources as well. Without a previous track record in business, securing a bank loan may be difficult. Banks cite risk factors and increasing costs of servicing small accounts as the primary reasons for minimizing their exposure to small businesses. Still, it can be done. Here are the steps that you should take to improve your chances of getting that much-needed bank loan:

1. Keep in mind that to stay in business banks need to make loans. Do not be afraid to ask for one. That is what the loan officer wants you to do. To increase your chances of getting a loan, look for a bank that is familiar with your industry and who has done business with companies like yours. Seek out banks that are active in small business financing. Some banks lend on a conventional basis (lending money without government support), while some banks participate in government programs (in the form of government participations involving direct government funds or loan guarantees). However, be aware that banks often demand stiff collateral requirements for start-ups.

2. As an entrepreneur, make sure that you are thoroughly prepared when you go to your banker's office to request a loan. You need to show your bankers that a loan to you is a low-risk proposition. Have on hand a completed loan application, copies of cash flow and financial statement projections covering at least three years, and your cover letter.

3. Learn to anticipate every question that he or she has. Remember, the combination of information and preparation is the most powerful negotiating tool in the world. A confident and thoroughly prepared borrower is four times more likely to have his or her loan approved than a borrower who does not know the answer to some of the basic questions a banker asks. To show the extent of your preparedness, your business plan should also include answers to your banker's questions. These questions normally are:

* How much money do you need? Be as exact as possible; although adding a little extra for contingencies will not hurt.
* How long do you need it for? Be prepared to go into detail about what the money will do for you and why your business is a good risk.
* What are you going to do for it? Businesses use loans for three things: to buy new assets, pay off old debts, or pay for operating expenses.
* When and how you will repay for it? Your cash flow projections should provide a repayment time frame. Convince the banker of the long-term profitability of your business and your ability to repay the loan by using your financial projections and business plan.
* What will you do if you do not get the loan?

4. Do not take an apologetic and negative attitude. Keep your negativity in check. Present yourself as an entrepreneur who can and will repay the loan. Boost your image by providing your loan officer with any promotional materials about your business, such as brochures, ads, articles, press releases, etc.

5. Dress in a professional manner for the interview. This is a business transaction, so treat it as such.

6. Do not stretch the truth in your loan application. Broad, unsubstantiated statements should be avoided. The lender can easily check many of the facts on your application. If you cannot support statements with solid data, then don't make them. Do your homework and spend time doing research to be able to support everything you say, including every single number in your projections. It is best to keep projections, assets lists and collateral statements on the conservative side.

7. Be sure all your documents are neat, legible and organized in a cohesive and attractive manner. Type all your loan documents. Handwritten documents look unprofessional. Don't forget to include a cover letter.

8. Do not push the loan officer for a decision. Doing so might result in a rejection. Your banker cannot make a decision until all your documentation is complete. To ensure a speedy decision, make sure that your application is complete.

9. Be confident. An attitude of confidence enhances your chance of getting the loan. Show that you can make a success out of the money that the bank will lend to you. Visualize in your mind the positive results of your bank application.

10. Keep trying one lender after another until you get your loan. To improve your position as you change bankers and banks, the best way is to ask for a referral from a successful entrepreneur. Before you decide to approach a bank directly, find an associate, friend or acquaintance that is in good standing with the bank to give you a good referral. Bankers tend to deal more favorably those who were referred to them by their best customers.

11. Failure to discuss risk in your application. You must remember one thing: there is no business without risk. If you do not discuss risk, the bankers will assume that you haven't thought about risk. Let's face it - try as we might, we cannot plan for everything, for every contingency, for every turn of events. Bankers would want to know if you have planned for the major risks and how you intend to manage it.

Then, there is also the risk of too much success. The demand for your products or service may exceed well beyond your expectations, and they would want to know how you intend to handle success.

12. Remember that the first loan is usually the hardest to get. Bankers prefer to lend money to borrowers who have borrowed at least once and have paid back at least one loan on time. They are not venture capitalists that make high-risk loans regardless of the profit prospects of your business. Bankers prefer to lend to low-risk, low profit ventures than to high risk businesses or those with no record of accomplishment.

What is Loan

A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower.

In a loan, the borrower initially receives or borrows an amount of money, called the principal, from the lender, and is obligated to pay back or repay an equal amount of money to the lender at a later time. Typically, the money is paid back in regular installments, or partial repayments; in an annuity, each installment is the same amount. The loan is generally provided at a cost, referred to as interest on the debt, which provides an incentive for the lender to engage in the loan. In a legal loan, each of these obligations and restrictions is enforced by contract, which can also place the borrower under additional restrictions known as loan covenants. Although this article focuses on monetary loans, in practice any material object might be lent.

Acting as a provider of loans is one of the principal tasks for financial institutions. For other institutions, issuing of debt contracts such as bonds is a typical source of funding.

Thanks To Wikipidea