It Might Be Time to Break Up With Your Bank

February 5, 2013

by Jeremy Quittner Inc.com

During the recession the refrain that banks weren’t lending to small businesses was heard so often, it should have its own meme.

Fortunately, entrepreneurs are an endlessly resourceful lot, and many discovered an entire world of lending alternatives to help keep them afloat. Once you start looking too, you’ll realize alternative lenders have different standards than bank lenders do, and aren’t necessarily looking for three years of perfect balance sheets. Many will focus on the potential your business has to grow, and will lend based on your future revenues or other the value of your other assets.

So if you want to tap all your latent anti-bank rage and look elsewhere for your financing needs, there are plenty of places to go–more than ever. And you’re likely to find that rates have come down since the financial crisis began, particularly as demand has increased. That’s not to say you should jump into alternative lending blindly: Rates can still be high and terms can be dubious.

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