Hidden Bank Loan Charges That Would Make a Pick-Pocket Envious


There can be more to a bank business loan than making interest and principal payments. Your firm may get a great rate on its new credit line or term loan but you may cry on the way home when you discover the hidden fees and charges.

Even seasoned borrowers can be caught off guard. Borrowing costs can be boosted by thousands of dollars and the effective rate on the loan increased by many basis points as a result of these hidden charges.

Here are some of the fees and charges that can increase your firm's costs on bank loans:

Commitment fees

Many banks charge commitment fees of ½% - 1% or more to issue a commitment to lend money. The fee is calculated on the available credit amount. Commitment fees significantly increase the effective rate on outstanding loans.

These fees can be negotiated. If your firm has a strong credit profile or if the competition among banks in your area is fierce, ask for a lower commitment fee or ask to have it waived.

Non-use fees

These fees may be charged in lieu of or in addition to commitment fees. Non-use fees usually range from ¼% to ½% of the unused credit facility. Although these fees are less onerous than commitment fees, they also increase the effective borrowing rate.

As with a commitment fee, you may be able to get the non-use fee reduced or waived if your firm has a strong credit profile or if the banking environment is very competitive.

Restructuring fees

When your firm has reason to restructure an existing loan, you can expect your bank to charge a restructuring fee for the privilege. For example, if your company has reason to convert a short-term loan into a long-term one, it will probably be charged for this restructure.

These fees can range from ½% to 2% or more plus any bank legal fees or out-of-pocket expenses. If your firm has been a long-term bank customer in good standing, you may be able to negotiate or eliminate the fee. But don't expect to eliminate the bank's attorney fees and out-of-pocket expenses.

Bank attorney fees

Attorney fees usually come into play when the bank uses an outside law firm. Making matters worst, many outside bank attorneys require a borrower to hire an outside attorney to issue an opinion letter covering the transaction.

Usually, only the strongest borrowers in very competitive banking situations can totally eliminate paying bank attorney fees. However, if your firm is a valued customer, your bank may be willing to have these fees capped or reduced. Often banks have some leverage with their law firms to get a discount.

Appraisal/environmental evaluation fees

These fees are charged on many asset-backed loans. They usually involve bringing in an outside expert to evaluate equipment or real estate. These fees can be significant, depending on the type of appraisal or environment issue.

Like attorney fees, appraisal or environment evaluation fees are almost always for the account of the borrower. Perhaps the best result one can expect is to have these fees capped or have the lender split the amount in some way.

Unanticipated audit expense

Many banks reserve the right to audit borrowers or to send bank personnel in for inspections. An audit may be required to review accounting procedures or to monitor collections, inventory or another aspect of your firm's operation. Also, some banks require outside audits by CPA firms in connection with extending credit. Any of these scenarios can create significant expense and involve a substantial time commitment for your firm.

Before signing, review your loan agreement carefully to identify any audit or bank inspection requirement. If your bank requires an audit or inspection that you did not anticipate, try to get it eliminated or try to negotiate limits. You may be able to get a less-stringent requirement or to negotiate a less-expensive alternative to the audit or inspection required by your bank.

If all else fails, try to get audit or inspection fees capped.

Late charges

Charges for making late payments to your bank are generally in your control. These charges can be onerous and can add significantly to your firm's borrowing cost. It is not unusual to see banks tack 300 basis points onto a customer's borrowing rate for delinquent payments.

While it is worthwhile during the negotiating stage of the loan to ask for a lower late- payment charge, the best solution is to try to avoid these charges. If you can, try to get the late-payment rate knocked down to 75 to 150 basis points above your borrowing rate.

Expiry of or Failure to Get a Rate-lock

In a stable rate environment, many banks are willing to lock the rate on fixed-rate credit transactions. Rate-locks protect the borrower from adverse rate movements prior to closing. In most cases, rates can be held up to 60 days. Rate-locks are not uncommon in real estate loans and equipment installment loans.

If your firm is negotiating a fixed-rate loan, try to negotiate a rate-lock. You may pay loan interest that is a tad higher, but a locked rate can eliminate an unpleasant interest rate swing.

Once you have locked the rate, try to stay within the holding period for closing the transaction. Most banks will eagerly and aggressively pass on rate hikes in a rising rate market, if you fail to comply.

Many hidden bank fees and charges can be reduced or eliminated if you plan ahead and are prepared to negotiate. You are in your strongest negotiating position before your bank issues a commitment letter and before you sign the credit agreement. Always read commitment letters and loan agreements carefully. Look for hidden fees, hidden charges and unexpected requirements. You can also ask your bank to prepare a separate list highlighting all potential fees and charges.

George Parker is a Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. ("LTI"). He is responsible for overseeing the company's marketing and financing efforts. One of the co-founders of LTI, Mr. Parker has been involved in secured lending and equipment financing for over twenty years. Mr. Parker is an industry leader, frequent panelist and author of several articles pertaining to equipment financing.

Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in direct equipment financing and vendor leasing programs for emerging growth and later-stage, venture capital backed companies. More information about LTI is available at www.ltileasing.com">http://www.ltileasing.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

Fed's Direct Loans to Banks Climb to Record Level (Update2)
Bloomberg - 7 hours ago
By Christopher Anstey and Steve Matthews May 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve's direct loans of cash to commercial banks climbed to the highest level ...
Investment firms' borrowing at fairly steady pace The Associated Press
Fed auctions $7.2B in Treasury securities CNN
Fed auctions $7bn in securities BBC News
New York Times - DealBreaker.Com
all 188 news articles


The Consumerist

Cash America shuts Ohio stores as lawmakers ban payday loans
Houston Chronicle, United States - 9 hours ago
2008 AP The announcement Thursday comes one day after the state Senate approved a bill that would ban two-week loans that support the payday lending ...
Ohio lawmakers approve payday lending cap Bizjournals.com
Payday lenders likely doomed Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Senate Approves Payday Lending Restrictions Bill WTOV9.com
Forbes - Bizjournals.com
all 78 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

Deutsche, Banks Selling $4 Billion of Boots LBO Loans (Update6)
Bloomberg - 12 hours ago
The banks offered to help the LBO firms pay for the purchase and cut the price of the loans to 91 percent of face value, they said. ...
Deal to sell £2bn of Boots' debt Telegraph.co.uk
PRIVATE EQUITY'S EXODUS New York Post
Deutsche, Banks Selling $4 Billion of Boots LBO Loans (Update1) Bloomberg
Bloomberg
all 10 news articles


US leveraged loans have worst ever quarter - Fitch
Reuters - 8 hours ago
Loans made to fund leveraged buyouts were scarce, with only $5.4 billion being issued in the first quarter, down 89 percent form $47.8 billion in the fourth ...
Fitch: Q1 Results Demonstrate Full Extent of Slowdown in Leveraged ... Business Wire (press release)
all 7 news articles


Banks set to push home loans
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - 5 hours ago
By DALJIT DHESI PETALING JAYA: Banks are mapping out strategies to garner a larger slice of the home loans market as intense competition continues to exert ...


AFP

Japan plans 4.8-bln-dlr loans for climate change: report
AFP - 8 hours ago
TOKYO (AFP) — Japan plans to extend up to 500 billion yen (4.8 billion dollars) worth of low-interest loans to developing countries over the next five years ...


RLPC-CS sells 135 mln euros of European leveraged loans
Reuters - 12 hours ago
VX: Quote, Profile, Research) sold a 135 million euro portfolio of high-quality European leveraged loans in a secondary market auction on Thursday, ...
RLPC-Endemol restarts sale of hung 2.2 bln euro buyout loan Reuters
all 5 news articles


The Southern Ledger

Bill would make new loan caps permanent
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - May 14, 2008
The loans from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. , Federal National Mortgage Association and the FHA were raised to $729750 for a single-family home as ...
Jumbo mortgage rates becoming affordable San Francisco Chronicle
US can't continue to take on risk to underwrite bad loans The Patriot-News - PennLive.com
Package: More cash, bigger loans Chicago Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune - MortgageNewsDaily.com
all 541 news articles


RBI relaxes lending norms for housing loans
Economic Times, India - 14 hours ago
"It has been decided to enhance the limit of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in respect of bank loans for housing in terms of applicability of risk weights for ...
Easier ECB rules may fire up industry Economic Times
all 3 news articles


Prospects of cheaper loans hit as inflation forecast sends Libor ...
Times Online, UK - 8 hours ago
Three-month sterling Libor, the benchmark rate used to price many loans, soared by 0.04 percentage points to 5.84 per cent, bringing the rise to 0.08 ...

loans - Google News

site map
Nocommentweb.com © 2000 - Partners

psychology help | snus | ekspress lån | express loan | Santander Spain | cheap insurance | snus|