Australia here we come, but of course they are very choosy who they let in, so perhaps we would not qualify any more.
On Friday the Footsie 100 finished up above the magic 4000 mark which is a good sign, and some of the banks led the way with Barclays looking very good. In the past it has been the small cap companies who have led the charge out of recession, and I think we can see the same recipe working in the future as the small cap companies are more nimble on their feet, and have slimmed down in the last eighteen months and are now lean and mean and well placed to take advantage of any signs of recovery however small.
These maybe pin pricks of light in a vast black sky but it is a sign of the times when any tiny sign of light has us all getting excited, that this maybe the start of a movement in the right direction.
These small signs should not be discounted but the real problem that is holding back any real recovery is the lack of funds that are available to clients in business who want to go forward. Despite the much heralded government schemes that are supposed to be in place to help the small businesses to recover and grow out of the current situation the river bed still remains dry and dusty.
What a massive difference the flow of COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES, FINANCE AND FLEXIBLE BUSINESS LOANS would make to the market stuck in a log jam of banks looking over their shoulder at the FSA and the credit committee who seem to take a great delight in saying no when with a slight move to the right we would all have a smile on our faces once more,
It is not the fault of the clients of the banks that they are in this position; banks have not been known for their generosity in lending to business. The problem has been the blocks of sub prime business that came in via the back door with no proper vetting or underwriting, just the seal of approval by a rating agency. And who employed the rating agency ?
The price we are now paying for this complete and utter madness will stay with us for many many years and no doubt our banking fiends have either found other jobs or they can retire with their big fat bonuses paid for as the price of failure. In what other Industry could this happen, and they walk away still smelling of roses and pots of money.
The banks that are lending in the current market have placed certain restrictions on the MORTGAGES or LOANS being granted. With all the COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES, FINANCE, AND BUSINESS LOANS that are being granted the margins above BOE have increased, and in some cases lenders are looking to use LIBOR as the basis of the calculation which again means higher interest rates for the client.
The fee structure again on COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES FINANCE AND BUSINESS LOANS have been increased, and as most of these are added to the loan the client may not be aware of the change in the fee structure. From a COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE BROKERS view it means that we have to be careful that the client fully appreciates the total fee structure and in some cases lenders are not willing to pay the COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE BROKER a fee but still charge the client the same fee as when they were paying fees to intermediaries. Another nice little earner for the banks and the clients are no wiser.
Lending should be about clarity and transparency, but some lenders appear to be determined to claw back their losses and repair the balance sheet at all costs, and it’s the client who pays.
However we remain constructive and talk up the markets and try to be as positive as possible even if it does not appear to be getting any easier to obtain the life blood of our Industry, a transfusion in terms of access to COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES FINANCE, AND BUSINESS LOANS IS CALLED FOR TODAY, Mr Brown, are you listening ?
Michael Alexander acommercialmortgage4you.co.uk.
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