What a lender is actually deciding
A bank lending to a business is answering one question: will this be repaid, and what happens if it is not. Everything it asks for is in service of that question.
Most owner-managed businesses approach a facility application the wrong way round. They know their business is sound and assume the lender will see it too. But the lender does not know the business; it knows the file. And a thin file (unaudited accounts, no projections, no clear statement of what the money is for and how it will be repaid) is assessed as a thin file, regardless of how good the business behind it is.
The work is not persuasion. It is presenting the real position in the form a credit committee actually evaluates, so the decision is made on the business rather than on the gaps in the paperwork.
Who needs bank financing support in Dubai
Businesses seeking a term loan, working capital facility, trade finance line or overdraft. Businesses refinancing an existing facility on better terms. Businesses whose first application was declined and want to understand why before reapplying.
Also businesses approaching a facility for the first time, who do not know what a lender expects and would rather find out before submitting than after being declined.
What our bank financing support involves
How we run it:
- Establish what you actually need: amount, type of facility, term, and whether it matches the purpose. A working capital problem is not solved by a term loan, and lenders notice the mismatch.
- Prepare the financial information the lender expects: financial statements, management accounts, and the reconciliations behind them.
- Build a repayment case. Projections showing the business can service the facility, with assumptions that are defensible rather than optimistic.
- Model the downside. A credit committee stress-tests; presenting only the base case invites them to build their own worse one.
- Address the obvious questions before they are asked: customer concentration, related party balances, any historic loss.
- Assemble the application pack in the order a lender reviews it.
- Support the questions that follow, since the first submission is rarely the end of the conversation.
Why a thirteen-week cash forecast changes the conversation
The single most useful document in a facility application is one most businesses do not have: a short-horizon cash forecast.
A lender assessing a working capital facility wants to see that you understand your own cash cycle, when money comes in, when it goes out, and where the gap is that the facility fills. A thirteen-week forecast shows exactly that, and it shows it in the lender’s own language.
- It demonstrates you understand the cash cycle rather than hoping it works out
- It quantifies the actual gap the facility is filling, so the amount requested is justified rather than round
- It shows the facility being repaid, which is the question the lender is actually asking
- It signals financial discipline, which lenders price into terms
- It is the same forecast that then runs the business better, so the work is not wasted on the application
A business that arrives with this is a materially different proposition from one that arrives with a request and a bank statement, and the difference shows up in both the decision and the terms.
What we will not do
Two things, stated plainly because this is an area where overselling is common.
We do not promise an outcome. The lending decision is the bank’s, made on its own criteria, and no adviser controls it. What we control is whether the case is presented properly, which affects the decision without determining it. Anyone guaranteeing you a facility is selling something they cannot deliver.
We do not broker loans or take a commission from lenders. Our fee is for preparing your financial case, and it is the same whoever you borrow from. That matters because a broker paid by the lender has an interest in the deal closing that is not necessarily aligned with yours, and we would rather be paid by you to tell you honestly when a facility is a bad idea.
Sometimes the honest answer is that the business does not need the debt, or cannot service what it is asking for. We would rather say that than help present an application we do not believe in.
What goes wrong
These are the failures we are brought in to correct, in rough order of frequency:
- Presenting a thin file and assuming the lender will see past it.
- Requesting a facility that does not match the purpose, which lenders notice immediately.
- Projections that are optimistic rather than defensible, which a credit committee discounts.
- No downside case, leaving the lender to build a worse one.
- Ignoring the obvious questions: concentration, related party balances, historic losses.
- Reapplying after a decline without understanding why, which usually produces a second decline.
- Believing an adviser who guarantees the facility. Nobody controls the lending decision.
Deadlines that apply
Before applying, with enough time to prepare the case properly rather than assembling it under a deadline. Where a facility is genuinely needed, a business seeking it while comfortable is a far better proposition than one seeking it while short, and the terms reflect that.
After a decline, before reapplying, because a second application without understanding the first refusal usually fails the same way.
What our bank financing support delivers
- A facility need matched to purpose
- Financial information prepared to the standard a lender expects
- A repayment case with defensible projections
- A downside scenario
- A thirteen-week cash forecast where working capital is involved
- An application pack in the order the lender reviews it
- Support through the lender’s questions
What we need from you
The list is short and you will have most of it already:
- Financial statements for the last two to three years
- Management accounts to the most recent month
- Details of the facility sought and its purpose
- Existing borrowings and their terms
- Details of security available
- Aged receivables and payables
- Customer concentration and contract information
How we price our bank financing support services
Fixed fee for preparing the case, scoped on complexity and whether the underlying financials already exist. We take no commission from any lender, which is the only basis on which our advice about whether to borrow is worth anything.
Where the financials or forecasts need building first, that is separate work, and it is work that serves the business beyond the application.
Related
FAQs about bank financing support services in Dubai
What does bank financing support involve?
Preparing the financial case a facility application needs (financial statements, projections, a repayment case and a cash forecast) so the lender assesses the business rather than the gaps in the paperwork. We prepare the case; we do not broker the loan.
Can you guarantee we get the facility?
No, and nobody honestly can. The lending decision is the bank’s, made on its own criteria. What we control is whether the case is presented properly, which affects the decision without determining it. Anyone guaranteeing a facility is overselling.
Do you take commission from lenders?
No. Our fee is for preparing your case and it is the same whoever you borrow from. A broker paid by the lender has an interest in the deal closing that is not necessarily yours. We would rather be paid by you to tell you honestly when a facility is a bad idea.
Why do applications get declined?
Frequently for how they are presented rather than the underlying business, a thin file, a facility that does not match the purpose, optimistic projections, no downside case, or obvious questions left unaddressed. The business is sound; the file is not.
What is the most useful document?
A thirteen-week cash forecast. It shows the lender you understand your cash cycle, quantifies the gap the facility fills, and demonstrates repayment, in the lender’s own language. Most businesses do not have one, and it changes the conversation.
We were declined once. Can you help us reapply?
Yes, and the first step is understanding why the first application failed. Reapplying without that usually produces a second decline for the same reason. Sometimes the answer is that the case needs rebuilding; sometimes that the facility was wrong for the need.
When should we approach a bank?
While comfortable, not while short. A business seeking a facility with a credible forward view and no immediate need is a far better proposition than one seeking it under pressure, and the terms reflect that.
A thin file is assessed as a thin file however sound the business behind it. We prepare the case properly, and tell you honestly if the debt is a bad idea.
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