I heard this questions twice in one hour today from individuals looking for money and thought I would take a moment to speak about it for everyone who is not in our business as a way of letting you into our world.
It seems more and more theses days that we have less and less time. Certainly when it comes to borrowing money most people don’t want to get bogged down in the “stuff” associated with mortgages and loans. Credit reports, applications, numbers, financial statements and what seems to be a million other things are just details that get in the way of doing what someone really wants to be doing. At Bridge Capital we are working hard everyday to help make it easy for people to get a mortgage or loan. We still need all the “stuff” but try to work quickly when we first hear from someone to give them the direction they need so that they don’t spend time on something if it isn’t worth it.
In both calls the individuals felt that their deals were so good and strong financially that a bank would be blessed to have them as clients. In my career I have never heard a bank say “we sure are blessed to have so and so” but how do you tell someone that who thinks they have the next best thing. Both deals appear to be strong but the expectation that both people had as it relates to getting money are a little misplaced.
A banker said to me the other day (a local banker who is excellent at what he does) that the good ol’ days of calling your bank manager at 9 AM and picking up a cheque before noon are long gone. Not only do bank managers have limited authority (even more so since the financial crash a few years ago) but the banks have procedures and processes that they have to follow no matter the client, how long the client has been with them or what they have to offer. Part of this is from the regulators and part of this comes from the banks themselves who don’t want to expose themselves to unnecessary risk. I understand where they are coming from and given that they are holding your money in the vaults I am sure none of us wants to see them cut corners. There is a balance to be struck between managing risk and using common sense but overall we have to appreciate that the world has changed and we have new rules to play by.
So when do you get the money? When you have put together your “stuff” and have made it through the hoops. No shortcuts available.
