On Deck Capital Introduces Small Business “Game Changer”

Posted on February 22, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Inside Main Street

On Deck Capital, a technology platform that connects Main Street directly to capital, announced today the launch of On Deck Express, “the fastest way for small businesses to access up to $25,000 in as fast as 24 hours online.” To access On Deck Express, business owners set up their online profile at On Deck, and the express application is fully automated. Once approved, the business owner can select from available term and loan options that best meet their needs. From there, On Deck’s platform enables the funding process to take as little as one day. Read the full press release here.

_________________________

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

ON DECK INTRODUCES SMALL BUSINESS GAME CHANGER

WITH LAUNCH OF ON DECK EXPRESS

On Deck’s Sophisticated Technology Platform Now Gives Main Street Businesses

Loan Approvals within minutes

(New York, NY) February 22, 2012 – On Deck (www.ondeckcapital.com) — the technology platform that connects Main Street directly to capital — announced today the launch of On Deck Express, the fastest way for small businesses to access up to $25,000 in as fast as 24 hours online.  On Deck Express is also On Deck’s most accessible loan yet, serving bothMain Street and online businesses that have been open for at least one year.

On Deck Express addresses what millions of local restaurants, retailers, and service businesses need when seeking quick capital to help fund an emergency that arises, purchase or repair critical equipment, hire additional employees or exploit a time-sensitive inventory purchase opportunity.

On Deck originally improved small business access to capital through its innovative underwriting platform that created greater efficiencies and accuracies to a historically time intensive process. The introduction of On Deck Express further leverages this proprietary technology to make capital available faster and easier than any other small business finance option on the market. An approval process that often takes weeks or even months with traditional lenders or the Small Business Administration, can now take just minutes, all done entirely online through the On Deck platform.

“Today’s uncertain economy creates significant challenges for millions of small businesses and the On Deck platform continues to evolve to best meet these challenges,” said Noah Breslow, chief operating officer, On Deck. “On Deck Express allows small business owners to quickly respond to the needs of their day-to-day operations. And our first of its kind online lending process leapfrogs other small business lending options in the market.”

Obtaining an On Deck Express loan is fast, simple, and transparent for small business owners. Business owners set up their online profile at www.ondeckcapital.com and immediately get free insights into their credit profile and cash position. The On Deck Express application and approval process is completely automated, and once approved the business owner is empowered to select from available term and loan options that best meet their business needs. From there, On Deck’s funding process enables a business owner who is approved Monday morning to have their funds deposited in their account by Tuesday. This is a significant advancement for a process that has historically taken many weeks and required a major investment of time and extensive documentation from business owners.   While many business owners prefer the convenience of an all-online process, business owners can always speak to an On Deck salesperson for assistance, and complete the Express application process offline if they choose.

For the companies in need of a higher amount of capital to fund company investments such as launch marketing campaigns, renovate office space or move locations, traditional On Deck loans up to $150,000 are available that can still be funded faster than any other option available today, in up to seven days. To date, On Deck has delivered more than $200M to thousands of small businesses nationwide.

To learn more about On Deck, please visit www.ondeckcapital.com.


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Allen Iverson Joins the Broke and Famous

Posted on February 22, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Celebrity Worship Wednesday

Would you lend to this former NBA star?

A Georgia judge has garnished the funds of former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson after the former player refused to pay an outstanding jewelry bill worth $860,000, the Huffington Post reports. This adds support to other claims that the ex-NBA’er may be broke. Iverson reportedly earned about $154 million in salary alone over his NBA career, but poor financial planning, extravagant spending and lawsuits have caused A.I. to go broke “by all accounts except his own,” a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter wrote in 2010.

But his list of financial problems, including a gambling problem and missed child support payments, is far from unique. 60% of NBA players become financially insolvent within five years of quitting the league. More than three-quarters of retired NFLers go broke within two years, according MSNBC.

What leads these athletes to financial ruin?

The nature of the business is one suggestion. “There’s a far shorter peak earning period [in sports] than in any other profession,” a money manager told Sports Illustrated in 2009, “In many cases they lack the time and desire to understand and monitor their investments.” The average span of an NFL career is just three years. Family problems can be another reason; pro-athlete divorce rates are between 60 and 80 percent according to Sports Illustrated. Poor choices in money managers can also be disastrous. In the NFL, for example, only about 50% of players use league-approved asset managers, according to the New York Times. Others invest in failed ventures.

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Coleman’s Fresno SBA Loan Servicing Workshop

Posted on February 22, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Inside Main Street

Join us in Fresno for a workshop about what goes behind the curtain at the Fresno SBA Loan Servicing Center. Your workshop instructors will lead an intensive training session covering all of the issues SBA 7(a) and 504 lenders will encounter with the Fresno Loan Servicing Center. For 7(a), panelists will cover servicing, SBAExpress purchases, and offer in compromise. For 504 they will cover servicing, liquidation, and right of redemption. Your registration fee includes all meals. Your guest is invited to the Winery Dinner at no charge. Register early, space is limited. For those of you who cannot travel we offer live online streaming of the workshop. Please email joseph@colemanpublishing.com for any further questions. Read More Here or Download an Order Form Here.

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China’s Underground Lending Falters, Fueling Protests

Posted on February 21, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Inside Main Street

Thousands of informal lenders took to the streets on New Year's Day in the province of Anyang, demanding the government recover their money.

Underground lending by ordinary Chinese has flourished across the nation over the past decade. But, as growth cools and Beijing cracks down on informal credit, thousands of small lenders are unpaid and angry. According to the Washington Post, underground lending’s popularity reflects public desperation for an alternative to China’s banks, which pay low deposit rates that fail to keep up with inflation and channel savings to government companies. But, the high cost of underground credit and a slump in global demand caused a wave of business failures last year, prompting owners in smaller cities to flee. The effects are just now hitting those who put up the money for those loans, and their response has been to protest and demand officials get back their money.

Communist Party leaders have repeatedly promised more credit for small companies, but most loans still go to state enterprises that have close ties with banks and form the power base of officials. Only 19% of bank lending last year went to small businesses, while total loans fell six percent from 2010 to 7.5 million yuan ($1.2 trillion). The underground credit market is estimated at two to four trillion yuan ($325 to $650 billion), or as much as seven percent of total lending. In some areas, informal lending exceeds that of official banks.

Thousands of frustrated lenders took to the streets of Anyang on New Year’s Day, demanding the government recover their money. Police blocked some who tried to board trains to Beijing to complain to the central government. The propaganda department of Anyang’s Communist Party branch said investigators have detained 160 people and recovered 1.8 billion yuan ($290 million) out of 4.6 billion yuan ($741 million) sought by lenders.

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SBA Seeks More Money in 2013 for Fewer Loans

Posted on February 21, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Inside Main Street

The SBA's proposed budget has some believing the agency may hinder lending in 2013.

The SBA asked Congress for more than $1 billion for 2013 in it’s proposed 2013 budget, more than 20% more than what it received last year. But at the same time, the SBA is also asking for the authority to back $3 billion less in loans to small businesses than it asked for in 2012. According to Entrepreneur.com, the SBA’s budget proposal asked for $949 million for the agency’s general functions and $167 million for the agency’s Disaster Loan Program, totaling $1.1 billion.

The SBA is asking for a federal subsidy of $351 million for FY2013, a 67% increase over the $211 million from FY2012, to pay for the loans it expects to make in 2013 over the lifetime of those loans. The agency is proposing to drop the authorized cap on the SBA’s two most popular loan programs as well. The 7(a) loan program cap will drop to $16 billion from $17.5 biilion, and the 504 loan program cap will drop to $6 billion from $7.5 billion.

Why? The SBA says that subsidy costs have increased and that it his learned from some “low-performing loans” made in the mid-2000s that are still costing the agency. Our own Bob Coleman said that the lower loan caps are due, in part, to expiration of stimulus measures that temporarily increased the amount of a loan that the government would guaranty and decreased the fees, making SBA loans attractive to both lenders and borrowers. He says the new levels should be sufficient to meet the demand for the industry.

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UK Small Businesses Want a ‘Plan B’ to Step Up Lending

Posted on February 21, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Inside Main Street

As Treasury official attempt to finalize a national loan guaranty scheme (NLGS), a key part of Chancellor George Osborne’s credit-easing proposals tentatively slated for announcement March 15, there are already calls from small businesses to devise alternatives to bank lending and to set up a bank for SMBs, the UK Guardian reported last week. The failure of big banks to meet their lending targets under 2011’s Project Merlin has turned the focus on what the government will do to help small businesses grow and in turn bolster the economy in the face of a threat of a downgrade to the UK’s triple A debt rating by Moody’s. The details of how the NLGS will work are still being negotiated, but the idea is the banks benefit from the government’s triple A rating to reduce their own costs of funding, and in turn reduce the cost of loans to small firms by one percentage point. But, some are worried that won’t be enough. One economist said, “The government must announce a substantive credit-easing plan as soon as possible. The idea of an SME bank should also be seriously considered, given the difficulties that small firms are facing in obtaining credit on reasonable terms. The upcoming budget gives the chancellor an opportunity to announce a package of comprehensive measures to enable businesses to create jobs and drive the recovery.” The budget is scheduled for March 21, although a credit-easing announcement is expected for March 15. We will be keeping up with this story as it unfolds.

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Another Developer Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

Posted on February 20, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Mugshot Monday

Today's Mugshot Monday takes us to Missouri and West Virginia.

It seems like this is starting to happen a lot more recently. A Missouri developer plead guilty last week to one felony count of bank fraud involving loan funds, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.

Gary Vehlewald secured loans from Premier Bank in 2006 to buy an 11-acre tract of land to be developed into a housing community. Vehlewald also entered into a loan agreement with Premier Bank for the construction of eight single-family residences.

Premier Bank loaned Vehlewald around $3.9 million, but later found that he had used the loan disbursements for other expenditures, including for work that had not been completed and for payment to subcontractors and employees who performed work at other construction projects.

Given how the SBA has recently been staunch on following the money when honoring a guaranty, this is the type of situation that can burn a banker at both ends.

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Man Pleads Guilty to Fleecing Bank for Years

Posted on February 20, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Mugshot Monday

For three years a former financial services manager at First Citizens Bank took money by creating fictitious loans in the names of existing bank customers. John Garris plead guilty to the crime last week, which he said took place from January 2008 to February 2011. According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Garris took cash advances on the loans, and issued cashier’s checks to himself, cashed them, and then deposited the money in an account at another bank. All in all, Garris got $90,000 to $99,175 in the scheme.

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Jury Finds Former AEA FCU Loan officer, Wife Guilty of Fraud

Posted on February 17, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Fraud Friday

Two years after his fraud scheme collapsed AEA Federal Credit Union, former loan officer William Liddle was found guilty of several counts of fraud and money laundering this week. According to CUTimes.com, during his time at AEA, Liddle approved more than $25 million in business loans as vice president of business services. Liddle and his wife were  arrested in December 2010 for their roles in approving questionable AEA business loans in exchange for nearly $1 million. Liddle was found guilty of 44 counts of federal credit institution fraud, 14 counts of misapplication of financial institution fraud, six counts of transactional money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. His wife received 30 counts of federal credit institution fraud, five counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy.

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Louisiana Developer & Bank Exec Charged with Fraud

Posted on February 17, 2012 by insidemainstreet in Fraud Friday

The former president and CEO of this First Community Bank in Hammond, LA is charged with conspiring with a local developer to hide delinquent loans.

Real estate developer Troy Fouquet and former president and CEO of First Community Bank Reginald Harper have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud this week. Nola.com reports Fouquet is accused of conspiring with Harper to hide Fouquet’s $2 million debt from the bank’s board and the government.

According to court documents, Harper and his bank loaned Fouquet’s company $2 million in 2004 to buy property and build subdivisons; the plan being each homebuyer would obtain a permanent mortgage to pay back Fouquet, who would in turn pay back Harper. But the pair had trouble finding qualified buyers, so in 2005 they began scheming various fraud to avoid reporting the delinquent loans.

They used Fouquet’s friends and associates to sign up for new loans to pay off the delinquent loans. Harper accepted and recorded bad checks from Fouquet in the bank’s books even though he knew they were worthless. Harper is also accused of giving unqualified homebuyers “sham” loans so it would look to permanent mortgage lenders that they had more money on hand than they did. Once the buyers qualified for a permanent mortgage, Harper would withdraw the money from the buyers’ accounts.

Both face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

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