See Also:
5 Cs of Credit
Line of Credit
Credit Rating Agencies
How Important is Personal Credit in Negotiating a Commercial Loan?
Improve Your Credit Score

7 C’s of Banking

Every knows the 5 C’s of Banking. But what are the 7 C’s of Banking? Recently, I spoke to students at the University of Houston in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship on the topic of Dealing with Lenders. During the question and answer portion of the program, a student asked me “What do lenders really look at when they are deciding whether or not to approve a loan?”

7 C’s of Credit: Condition

Is there a logical need for the funds? Does it make business sense? Are the funds to be used to grow an existing and proven business product or service business or to be used for an unproven one?

7 C’s of Credit: Collateral

Is the proposed collateral sufficient? What type of value does it have? Is there a secondary market for it? The lender wants to know, in the event of a default, that it will be likely to recoup a significant portion of the amount lent.

7 C’s of Credit: Credit

For smaller enterprises, the personal credit score of the individual owner(s) will be reviewed. As with personal loans, such as an auto or mortgage loan, the bank is looking for evidence of a history of you paying your lenders on time. For larger companies, the bank will consult Dun & Bradstreet reports for evidence of the timely payment of vendors and other creditors.

7 C’s of Credit: Character

What do those who have done business with the prospective borrower have to say about its business practices? A bank will typically ask the applicant for a list of references, such as three customers and three vendors to contact.

7 C’s of Credit: Capacity

Does the borrower have the wherewithal to pay the debt service? Is it generating enough free cash flow to reasonably assure timely interest payments and ultimately the repayment of the principal balance?
Due to the expanding levels of transnational business and cross-border lending over the last few decades, you need to discuss the two new C’s.

7 C’s of Credit: Currency

What is the recent history and outlook of the primary currency in which the company will conduct its operations? Does the currency exhibit a history or likelihood of losing its value? The more stable the currency, the more attractive the loan request will be to a lender.

7 C’s of Credit: Country

Does the borrower conduct a significant portion of its operations in a country with a history of political instability? Is there the possibility of an expropriation of the borrower’s assets due to a change in the country’s government? Is the country’s current political and legal system hostile to the interests of foreign countries? There are two factors that would make the bank more likely to be willing to make the loan, including the following:

• The more established the country’s government is
• The more a legal system has demonstrated a reverence for bother property rights and the rights of creditors

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