Bob Coleman Featured in Numerous Publications (2009)


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Bob Coleman Featured in Numerous Publications

2010|2009

December 16, 2009 Small firms still facing hurdles in borrowing

Bob Coleman, publisher of Small Business Lending News in La Cañada, adds that for small to midsized lenders, another problem is that many SBA loans are secured by commercial property. Now that commercial property prices are plummeting, the value of the collateral has dropped, drawing the scrutiny of the regulators.

"If a bank extends a $750,000 loan based on the value of the property being used as collateral and then the value of the property drops to $650,000, the regulators are going to tell the banks they need more capital to cover that loan," Coleman said.

But Coleman added that those problems are generally associated with regional or community lenders, not the big banks that have been generating profits with the help of federal stimulus dollars.

December 2, 2009 Superior Financial Group Emerges as Nation's Top SBA Lender

Superior Financial Group, a small, independent operation located in Suburban Walnut Creek, CA, produced 2,690 SBA (7a) loans totaling $27.1 million to entrepreneurs during SBA's fiscal year running October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009. "This independent lender was able to outperform the larger, more established Banks by providing financial products to meet the needs of Main Street businesses providing capital and training to expand their business and hire new employees. In doing so, SFG has become the top SBA lender in the country," stated Bob Coleman, Founder of Coleman publishing. "This really is a story of David and Goliath," he added.

November 23, 2009 BBVA Compass ranked third for SBA lending

The Birmingham-based bank received third place for doling out a hefty amount of loans backed by the Small Business Administration, according to the recently released Coleman Report 500, which provides information for SBA lenders.

November 18, 2009 Can Treasury, SBA help small business?

The stimulus package passed by Congress made it easier for banks to make SBA loans and waived fees to borrowers. And that helped a lot, says Bob Coleman, who puts out a report on small-business lending.

October 30, 2009 As others lie low, Cincinnati's Quadrant boosts loans by 38 percent

Quadrant Financial Inc. boosted its lending volume by a whopping 38 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year ended in September. Its affiliated banking company finished the fiscal year as the nation's 28th-largest SBA lender by dollar volume, with $47 million in SBA loans, according to Bob Coleman of trade publication The Coleman Report.

October 30, 2009 Small Businesses Could Face New Credit Squeeze

"We're entering into an era of uncertainty," says Bob Coleman, founder of Coleman Publishing, a firm in La Canada, Calif. that tracks and reports government-guaranteed lending activity. Previous government programs, including last summer's emergency-loan ARC program, have taken time to ramp up, as banks must evaluate the rules and -- if they decide to participate -- prepare their internal systems to support it. Even if Mr. Obama's plan successfully launches by year's end, there could be a dip in SBA lending for weeks or months until risk-averse banks engage, Mr. Coleman says."

October 19, 2009 Focus on small business: Ridgestone tosses a lifeline of loans

The stimulus programs lowered the risk for lenders, said Bob Coleman, editor of Coleman SBA Lender Daily, a La Canada, Calif.-based newsletter for small-business lenders. "For the lender to say 'yes,' now they are only taking a 10 percent risk as opposed to a 25 percent risk."

September 25, 2009 Wells Fargo SBA Lending is "Last Bank Left Standing" - CNNMoney.com

"I don't see anything shocking with Wells Fargo being number one," says Bob Coleman, editor of the Coleman Report, which monitors small business lending trends.

September 19, 2009 Status Report: Small-Business Lending

Firms holding their expansion plans in check may have a good reason, says Bob Coleman, a small business banking analyst in La Canada, Calif. "We're still in a recession," he says. "We're not talking Armageddon here, but it will [likely] remain tough for businesses to get loans," says Coleman.

September 14, 2009 S.B.A. Lending Is Rising, But What Happens When the Stimulus Runs Out?

Industry analysts and players give much of the credit to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Sure it gave us the ARC loan program, but it also contained two important provisions that stimulated government guaranteed lending. Crucially, it bolstered the guaranty in the agency's flagship 7(a) loan to 90 percent, from, depending on the size of the loan, 75 or 85 percent. On a million-dollar loan, for example, the higher guaranty reduces the bank's exposure by $150,000, says Bob Coleman, an industry analyst.

Herald Tribune August 28, 2009 A market that healed itself

"The current investor community is different than few years ago, when foreign investors represented a large portion of the buyers of SBA pools," said Chris Laporte, chairman of Coastal Financial Holdings, at a conference on TALF held last week by trade publisher Coleman Publishing."

Herald Tribune July 27, 2009 SBA's "Rescue" Loans Have Big Problems

In a Twitter communiqu online, Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, wrote, "ARC is a bust. SBA has only approved 139 loans for $4.6 million in the first 2 weeks. Go another way." His follow-up tweet says, "Good CNN article about SBA ARC Loans http://tr.im/qlw3."

Businessweek July 23, 2009 Norwalk Furniture: The Factory That Refused to Die

"It's very difficult for banks to embrace lending to smaller businesses," says Robert Coleman, editor of the La Canada (Calif.)-based Coleman Report, which tracks small business loans.

Bloomberg July 22, 2009 CIT Tremors Force Sleeping-Bag Maker to Seek Cover (Update 2)

Wells Fargo's lending to small businesses in the second quarter increased 27 percent from a year earlier to $586.9 million, while CIT's plunged 88 percent to $65.7 million, according to the Coleman Report.

USA Today July 22, 2009 Some Small Business Still Struggle to Get Financing

SBA 7(a) lending for the fiscal third quarter ended in June dropped 38% by volume and 50% by number of loans compared with the same quarter last year, according to the Coleman Report, which provides information on small-business lending.

Washington Post July 21, 2009 CIT Group Strikes Deal with Creditors to Avoid Bankruptcy

The Coleman Report, an industry publication, said last week that CIT's originations of government-guaranteed small-business loans in the past nine months fell 88 percent from the corresponding period a year earlier. The total volume, $66 million, dropped the company from its position as the nation's largest small-business lender for the first time in nine years.

Business Mirror July 21, 2009 CIT $3-B Rescue May Not Provide Cure

In the quarter ended on June, CIT's loans to small businesses plunged 88 percent to $65.7 million and the company fell to 15th in the category from first a year earlier, according to the La Canada, California-based Coleman Report.

Bloomberg July 21, 2009 CIT Expects Loss of $1.5 Billion, May Seek Bankruptcy (Update2)

In the quarter ended June, CIT's loans to small businesses plunged 88 percent to $65.7 million and the company fell to 15th in the category from first a year earlier, according to the La Canada, California-based Coleman Report.

Bloomberg July 20, 2009 Wells Fargo Wins Small-Business Customers From CIT (Update 1)

Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, gained small-business customers in the quarter that ended in June as CIT Group Inc. ran short on cash, according to the Coleman Report. Wells Fargo's lending to small businesses increased 27 percent from a year earlier to $586.9 million, while CIT's plunged 88 percent to $65.7 million, Coleman said in a report dated July 13 that was e-mailed today... "CIT will not be a player in the industry until it solves its liquidity problems -- one way or another," Coleman said. The Coleman Report... provides weekly data on small business lending in the U.S. The third-quarter report, issued according to the government's fiscal calendar, said lending fell 38 percent in the period from a year earlier to $2.5 billion. Wells Fargo's market-share gains were helped by acquisition in January of Wachovia Corp., which was the fourth-biggest small-business lender last year, Coleman said.

July 17, 2009 Alternatives to CIT Are Scarce, for Now

Though 7(a) lending was up in the last quarter, that's mainly due to the more generous (and temporary) 90 percent guarantee authorized by the February stimulus law, according to Bob Coleman, the S.B.A. industry analyst who publishes the Coleman Report. Nonetheless, Mr. Coleman sees a handful of banks gearing up for additional 7(a) lending once the economy improves, most notably Wells Fargo, now the largest lender by volume. Others to watch are Live Oak Banking Corp. of Wilmington, N.C. (the fifth-largest lender by volume), and Excel National Bank, of Beverly Hills, Calif. (the 14th-largest).

July 15, 2009 CIT Group's Borrowers May Find No Shortage of Credit

Defaults on loans from participants in the Small Business Administration jumped to 3 percent of those provided in 2008 from 2.4 percent in 2007 and 1.5 percent in 2006, according to March data from the Coleman Report in La Canada, California. CIT's small-business unit was the fifth-biggest SBA lender in the first quarter, issuing $44.9 million in loans, the Coleman Report said. Last year, CIT was the top small-business lender at $771.4 million, according to the report, which projects CIT's volume for this year will drop by $591.8 million.

July 13, 2009 CIT's Troubles Are Small Business's Troubles

CIT had an unusual method for financing 25-year loans, according to Bob Coleman, an industry analyst who publishes the Coleman Report. It would sell the S.B.A.-guaranteed portion, or 75 percent of the loan, on the secondary market, and the proceeds would finance much of the company's new loans. To finance the other 25 percent, CIT would borrow short-term money and refinance it every three months. "They had a very good credit rating, so they could borrow at low rates in the commercial 90-day paper market." But when credit markets, including both for short-term notes and pools of S.B.A.-guaranteed loans, froze last fall, CIT couldn't make new loans. Mr. Coleman does not believe these problems figure greatly in CIT's bigger liquidity problems. In S.B.A. lending circles, CIT is regarded as having a strong portfolio of loans. "You cannot be the No. 1 lender for 10 years in a row and have a sloppy portfolio," he says. "They weren't doing some of the crazy things that other lenders would do."

Herald Tribune July 13, 2009 Tweeters Talk Banks and Business Lending

Ending the event, Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, said, "Loved the twitter town hall format. A lot of ground breaking stuff happening here."

American Banker July 2, 2009 Lender Fears Force SBA Program into Slow Lane

Coleman Publishing, which tracks SBA loan data and puts out a daily newspaper on the subject, said Wednesday that unless lending picked up, the funds allotted for the Arc program would only be half disbursed at the current lending rate by the time the program ends on Sept. 30, 2010.

June 28, 2009 SBA Loans Start to Trickle

And on Friday, Coleman Publishing reported, "In just two year's time, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported more than $315 million in loans to more than 3,750 veterans and their spouses who are using the SBA-guaranteed funds to establish and expand their small businesses. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and eliminated fees temporarily, the number of Patriot Express loans increased to record levels in April and May of 2009."

June 26, 2009 SBA Tweaks Rules of 504 Loan Program

"Most are struggling and working overtime to figure out how to be able to survive this economy," says Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, a newsletter for SBA lenders.

June 23, 2009 Will Anyone Be Saved by the SBA's New ARC?

The Coleman Report, a newsletter for banks, states that "the ARC loan program is already being positioned to be a failure, and lenders are going to be the key players behind that failure."

June 20, 2009 SBA Offers Aid to Cash-Strapped

"The general consensus is that the lenders aren't too excited about it," says Bob Coleman, publisher of "The Coleman Report," a La Canada, Calif.-based trade publication for SBA lenders. "It's a tremendous amount of paperwork."

June 10, 2009 Surprising Funding Source for the Fitness Industry

This column includes some interesting figures, provided to me by Bob Coleman, the founder of the "Coleman Report," a newsletter covering the U.S. SBA loan programs. Coleman also is a national expert covering SBA lending programs and has worked for more than 25 years in the SBA industry.

June 10, 2009 The Lowdown on ARC Loans

Bob Coleman who provides training and publishes reports for participating SBA banks conducted a survey of bankers in which some participants say they are scared to death to participate in such a program.

May 5, 2009 Befriend Your Small Biz Lender

May 5, 2009 Expert: Jump Start SBA Lending

Gainesville Times.com April 18, 2009 Business Closure Picture Incomplete for Gainesville

Coleman, an expert on small businesses and publisher of the financial newsletter The Coleman Report, said that small business failure rates increased 154 percent from 2007 to 2008. Of all the businesses that have received Small Business Administration loans since 2001, nearly 12 percent have defaulted. The default rate "spiked tremendously" in the past two years, Coleman said...
"That is one of the reasons you have credit constriction at the bank level for small businesses and restricting capital for Main Street," Coleman said. "Small business performance, unfortunately, is indicative of the entire economic climate."... "All new employment is coming from small business right now," he said. "The buzz is that small business will be the leader in taking us out of the recession."...
"It's tragic what's happening in our local communities from that standpoint," he said. "The problem we have is while there will be a recovery, and the banks will survive and Detroit will survive, those people aren't coming back to Main Street. That's the real tragedy for our communities."

Inc Magazine April 3, 2009 Why Obama'Why Obama's Small Biz Rescue Plan is Collapsing

The most recent casualty is Community West Bank. In 2008, this little California-based bank wrote 62 SBA loans for $25 million, while expanding its reach to 20 states across the U.S. Earlier this week, industry analyst Coleman reported that Community West had changed its mind. By Wednesday, it had reduced its lending footprint to the Rockies and west, and halved its staff.

April, 2009 SBA Numbers: Declining loans? Whose de-fault is it?

The default rate on SBA-backed loans given to franchisees has more than quadrupled since 2004, according to information prepared by the Coleman Report, a newsletter out of California that tracks the SBA lending market. In 2004, the default rate for franchisees was 3.1 percent. By 2008 it was 13.4 percent...
And Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, stressed that not too much should be read into the difference. He said that the majority of franchise loans are in the 7(a) program, which has a higher default rate than the 504 program, which is tied to property. The default rates include numbers for both programs.

March 23, 2009 Top Lenders Pull Plug on Small Biz Loans

If current lending trends continue, only two of the top 30 lenders are projected to increase their loan volume this year, according to Bob Coleman, the head of Coleman Publishing... "Regulators are demanding that banks put more into their reserves right now. The SBA is being nitpicky with the defaulted loans, and lenders are finding it more difficult to get paid the government guarantee," he said..."Right now these loans aren't profitable," Coleman said. "The stimulus hasn't taken effect, and it's still months away from helping lenders. Some lenders don't think it'll be effective - they don't think it will be strong enough by itself, that the economy also needs to turn around." With a sigh, he added: "I guess that's where you get the chicken-and-the-egg thing."