Small Business Lenders in Berkeley, Illinois

Business Loan Providers for Berkeley Businesses

This is a list of banks outside of Berkeley, Illinois that have provided SBA loans to Berkeley businesses. Some of these may be national banks with local branch locations.

Business Loan Advice for Berkeley Businesses

As a prerequisite to meeting with banks for a loan, you will need to develop the specifics of your loan request.

You need to be able to clearly introduce your business to the banker, explain how much you want to borrow, define how the money will be used, and show your ability to pay the money back to the bank.

Having a business plan is essential. If the bank loan is to for a company that is already doing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. Bankers will also want to know what collateral you have available to guarantee the loan. Collateral is relevant because banks always want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which you cannot repay the loan.

If the business has few assets, you will likely be asked to to guarantee the loan with your personal assets, such as your individual retirement account or pension plan. The banks will check on your personal credit history in any case, so hopefully you have good credit history -- you may want to get a copy of your credit history prior to meeting with the banker.

Many of the banks in our list participate in the financial assistance programs available through the SBA. Before you sit down to talk with a small business banker, you may want to get up to speed on SBA loans programs to see if you qualify. SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans and SBA disaster assistance loans may be available to you.

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