How lenders really assess a business — and the small things that get good ones declined.
Two decades inside major banks and payments fintechs — Westpac, CBA, Citi. I ran the kind of analysis that gets a deal approved, or declined. Now I do it for business owners before the bank does.
It's almost always about how the deal was presented. Banks decline good businesses every week — not because the numbers don't work, but because the submission never answered the questions the credit team was always going to ask.
Track record, experience and credit history. Time in your industry, your reputation, whether past debts were repaid. Not personality — credibility.
Cash flow that covers repayments with headroom — read from statements, P&L and trends, allowing for seasonality and where you're heading.
Property, cash, equipment or receivables that back the loan — assessed on value and quality. Not needed for unsecured, but it sharpens the deal.
Your overall position — assets, liabilities, net worth, liquidity and your own contribution. Skin in the game, and a fallback if things tighten.
Expertise gets you part of the way — consistency is what gets deals approved, fast. We don't eyeball it. Every submission runs our benchmarking & risk engine, so the credit case is complete, consistent and quick — every time.
Link Xero once — current numbers, no chasing paperwork or stale statements.
Compared to IBISWorld industry data, earnings normalised — an objective read, not an opinion.
Stress-tested and risk-graded — measured, not assumed. The same rigour on every file.
Built to answer the lender's questions up front — which is exactly what makes it fast.
Entity-clear and reconciled — last two years plus year-to-date. If you can't explain a line, a lender won't fund it.
In plain English: what services the debt, with what headroom. Connect the numbers before someone else has to.
The right appetite turns "too hard" into "approved". One decline is a lender mismatch, not a verdict.
A bank priced a $20M+ facility as a risky exposure. Re-presented as the asset-backed lend it actually was — line fee 1.8% → 0.15%, finalised in 72 hours.
A 3-townhouse Canberra infill — below a major bank's usual ~$10M development minimum. Approved on exception, with no presale requirement.
Anonymised to protect client confidentiality · every deal is assessed on its own merits · outcomes vary.
Going to ask a bank, or already had a no? Get a second read from someone who's sat on the credit side. Grab me after — or anytime.