Those stories on the radio and in the papers have new meaning. I have some news from the front lines of small businesses looking for loans.
Bank of America told me flatly absolutely no lending to any business less than 2 years old. Of course this seems ridiculous. I mean, any new company, any entrepreneur trying to hire folks and build out of this mess we’re in is going to be running a company less than 2 years old. To be clear, this is regardless of the loan type, amount, credit history of applicant, level of collateral. It just doesn’t matter, they will not consider you for any type of loan. I’m not up to date on the latest, but I think I recall Bank of America took more than a few dollars out of my pocket with that whole bail-out thing. And if I recall I think we’re offering them near zero Fed rates right now…
Cambridge Trust on the other hand is an entirely different story. First and most important they are eager to see us succeed and grow and very happy to sit down and talk about how our relationship might develop. Second, Cambridge Trust is actually willing to lend us money. We’re going to use it to help outfit the new store. It’s going to be a modest loan assuming we can work out all of the details, we’ll offer collateral, etc. But they actually want to help. Night and day.
