What Are Agency Loans? Agency loans are types of mortgage loans that are guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. These entities do not directly offer loans to consumers, but they do purchase and guarantee loans from banks and other lenders, ensuring liquidity in the mortgage market. By providing this backing, agency loans often come with more favorable terms, including lower interest rates and smaller down payment requirements. This makes homeownership more accessible to a broader range of buyers. The guidelines set by these agenci ..read more

Selling direct to end consumers is a solid way to capture margin and reduce the sales pipeline. B2C interactions are also a great way to build community, especially if you operate locally through a brick-and-mortar shop. The success of a B2C business, however, varies depending on its products, positioning, and price point. High-ticket items may seem out of reach, but ticket price is not the only factor in how customers perceive affordability. So how do you manage the perception of cost to sell equipment, appliances, furniture, jewelry, and projects? Consumer financing enables customers to buy ..read more

April saw 2024’s first bank failure when Republic First bank closed on April 26. The bank failed to reach an agreement with The Norcross-Braca Group, which, in September 2023 committed to invest $35 million if the bank submitted its report and scheduled required shareholder meeting. The bank, which previously announced plans to exit its mortgage lending business, also had issues with internal controls and declining deposits. After the bank did not file the report, Norcross-Braca backed out of the deal. The bank pointed figures at its own executives, citing a “failure to maintain adequate inter ..read more

With Q1 behind us and Q2 well underway, it’s time for a check-in with the state of commercial real estate so far this year. While there are some definite national trends, conditions vary from region to region with some regions bucking those trends. Understanding the underlying causes can help you determine where to find pockets of opportunity. There’s still potential for the Fed to drop rates in the next two quarters or, at least, keep from hiking them. That could signal a round of refinancing for the massive number of CRE loans coming due this year. However, some have predicted high default r ..read more

There’s no official word on who coined the term, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” but it certainly seems to apply to “unicorn” businesses as of late. These privately owned businesses earn the classification “unicorn” when they breach the $1B valuation mark. But many venture-backed enterprises lost upwards of 50% of their value over the past few years, knocking several of them out of “unicorn” status. While the losses can be a blow to the egos of billionaires, the market shift has caused ripples that stretch beyond the private bank accounts of the uber-rich. Many unicorns have imple ..read more

Factoring as a way to grow businesses may be getting a lot of attention these days, but it’s not a new concept. History tells us that the practice of selling accounts receivable for a quick influx of capital came to our shores with the Mayflower. However, it’s been a popular form of financing for centuries all over the world. It’s helped merchants expand, explore, and succeed through history to the present day partly because it’s such a flexible option. This flexibility allows businesses to adapt it to their needs. The modern form of factoring developed in the textile and fashion industries. A ..read more

Believe it or not, we’re already heading into the second quarter of 2024. Financial performance in the first quarter is encouraging as the year got off to a strong start. While we didn’t see rate cuts from the Fed in the first few months, tech stocks gained in anticipation of an AI boom, leading the market to a nearly 30% increase over last year. For now, at least, it looks like the economy has dodged the predicted recession. As we go into the next quarter, look to invest in efficiency, quality, and product/service evolution. Supply chain changes bring efficiency benefits, quality is a big dri ..read more

If you’ve been watching the news, you already know that interest rates have started to level out, but that while reductions in interest rates are pending, businesses still need to access capital in order to serve clients. Today’s rates don’t have to scare business owners into holding off on financing to move their businesses ahead. The good news is that there’s an easy solution that gives businesses access to the working capital they need now without being stuck in a high-interest rate loan as rates moderate. As economists predict the Fed will lower rates in the second quarter of this year, it ..read more

Gone are the days when a small business owner could walk down to their local bank, have a lovely chat with their banker, and walk away with a loan to keep their business afloat. For many of us, those days never existed. The banks we’re familiar with are large multinational corporations highly regulated (due to the history of bailouts) by the government. They are subject to changes in nationwide policy without the flexibility to pivot quickly in response to demand. But they’re still the first option many people think of when it’s time to seek a loan. Banks must make adjustments in response to e ..read more

When bridge financing comes up in conversation, many business owners and managers think of short-term real estate funding. Bridge loans are popular with CRE investors because they support a quick close on property while awaiting traditional financing to come through. While that is a powerful tool for business owners and investors in hot markets and for fix-and-flip developers looking for redevelopment funding, bridge financing is more flexible than you might think. Bridge loans can cover any type of funding gap a business is experiencing. This article will touch on some of the many ways bridge ..read more