Banks Want to Lend, but is Uncertainty Creating Roadblocks?

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While early 2012 surveys indicated that small business dominated the areas banks were planning to actively pursue, lending to small business has been slower to get off the ground than anticipated. More recent surveys shed light on the possible reasons.

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A new Omega Performance survey on small business lending suggests banks and other financial services organizations, while still eager to lend, may be concerned about the ability of some lenders to fully understand the scope of small business and obtain the right information to assess opportunities and underwrite loans.

Across the globe, respondents rated less than half of the lenders as "good" at underwriting small business by their peers, and 36% as "fair" to "poor." However, about half of the world's lenders and small business personnel were perceived to have good small business acumen.

Despite the recent slowdown, over half of the respondents expect to increase/increase substantially the amount of small business credit training for the rest of 2012, while less than 3% expect a decrease. In terms of desirable sectors of small business, distribution was the most sought-after sector for lending, with wholesale in second, and retail and manufacturing close behind.

The results of this new survey come at a time when other surveys indicate small business is wary of borrowing. "These surveys show that banks and credit unions need to proactively demonstrate the value and opportunity that a small business loan could have for a small business owner," says John Golden, president and CEO of Omega Performance. "Without that connection, small businesses won't come looking to borrow."

The full results of the Omega Performance survey are available at http://www.omega-performance.com/surveys.

About Omega Performance

Whether you are an account manager, branch manager, relationship manager, or lender, Omega Performance can equip you with the skills to source sound lending opportunities and structure high-quality, profitable loans to help grow a more profitable, higher-quality loan portfolio. Omega Performance combines more than three decades of experience with industry-leading technology to provide the results you need.

Contact: Elizabeth Arritt 
Phone: +1-703-558-3040 
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Omega Performance