How healthy is your bank?

Look at this...finally a site that makes it easy to see.

http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/washington/

http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/oregon/

Quoted in Portland Biz Journal

The same credit crunch that’s making it so hard for businesses to obtain bank loans is striking alternative lenders, further limiting companies’ options for gaining working capital.Businesses that have relied before on asset-based lending — in which the loan is secured by collateral such as inventory, equipment or accounts receivable — or those that would like to explore the possibilities, may find such loans in limited supply. That may be especially vexing now, as spring is often a time for renewing bank lines of credit.Nonbank lenders specializing in asset-based lending— particularly those targeting small-to-medium businesses and entrepreneurs — are having a hard time getting capital to keep making loans, said Andrej Suskavcevic, CEO of the New York-based Commercial Finance Association.“In the fourth quarter of 2008, the credit markets imploded,” Suskavcevic said. “Banks began limiting their lending opportunities and shutting down credit availability to businesses.”That drove more borrowers to asset-banked lenders, just as some of those lenders found that their own credit limits were being squeezed.With less capital to lend, asset-based lending declined 1.9 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a survey by the association. “The only reason we are not working with more businesses is that we, too, are limited by the credit situation, since we leverage our equity with bank debt,” said Len Ludwig, CEO of Vencore Capital in Lake Oswego, an alternative lender that offers financing, including equipment loans, to borrowers nationwide.“We have a limit on the amount of bank debt we can get today,” Ludwig said. “It’s very frustrating for us, because we can’t generate more loans.”Unable to take on every potential customer that meets the underwriting requirements, Vencore has become more selective, Ludwig said.“There are companies that in normal times would have access to credit and debt from a bank,” he said. “They, for the most part, are more advanced, more mature companies, and are now turning to us.”Meanwhile, companies that normally turn first to Vencore might not be able to obtain loans, Ludwig said.Businesses that may need credit soon should start investigating their options, especially if they are counting on renewing an existing line of credit, said Suzy Oubre, owner of Alliance Commercial Credit Group in Vancouver.“Most lines of credit are renewed every year,” with a significant share coming up between April 15 and the end of June, Oubre said. “This year I anticipate that there will be a lot of people axed out.”Over the past month Oubre has seen a flurry of interest in asset-backed lending, but borrowers often balk when they realize the higher costs of these loans.A competitive annual rate on a $3 million asset-backed loan might be 12 percent or higher, she said. A $750,000 loan could cost 15 percent to 16 percent.“People believe they deserve better,” Oubre said. “They’re never going to pay the higher cost of financing if they don’t have to, so they’re hitting up all the banks. But this may be all that’s available to them.”For riskier business borrowers, asset-backed lending may not be available for several months, because of the tighter credit markets these financiers face, Suskavcevic said.“I anticipate that you’ll see an increase in asset-based lending in the second quarter, as credit markets open up,” he said. “It’s going to allow the lender base to help get the economy back on its feet.”Ludwig, who believes a turnaround may take longer to occur, urges businesses to take extra care with their finances until credit loosens up.“Smaller companies need to figure out a way to be cash-flow positive, and keep potential lenders updated about their progress,” Ludwig said “That way they’ll be at the front of the queue when the dam bursts.”