For at least 10 years numerous bankers have told me the industry needs more good people. With so many saying this I figured it was true.
We’re starting to see why they said that. Our recent client deals plus those in progress have had four with bank financing and two without. Those latter two just sailed to closing. The deal with a conventional loan was smooth as can be.
The ones with SBA bank loans all hit rocky seas and the common factor was inexperienced bankers (in my opinion). Let’s face it, SBA loans can be confusing, and the SBA issued five updates to their SOP in 2023.
Some of what happened reminds me of when we went to Turkey for our Rotary computer project. It took five months for the computers to be released from customs because nobody wanted to take the blame if something wasn’t 100% right (bureaucracy at its peak).
I got the feeling a lot of backroom people at banks were not all that experienced and didn’t know the difference between the letter and the spirit of the rules.
My banker friends will like the recommendation I now give to business buyers and sellers, make sure you deal with experienced bankers and banks who know how to do what you want done, get it done right, and done expediently.
FYI, I say the same about attorneys, accountants, and others, make sure they’re experts at your size deal, not deals much larger or smaller.
“What I’ve learned is not to change who you are, because eventually you’re going to run out of new things to become.” Taylor Swift
