Banks grow cautious but still lend to the right clients - Portland Business Journal:

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When the right building comed along, Webb believes the financing she needs willbe "I'm in good shape, but I know therer are other businesses that I'm closee to that are feeling the hit -- they were in the middlwe of processes that suddenly shifted," said president and chief executive of Ltd. As the crediyt crunch continues to playout nationwide, business borrowers in Portland and Southwestg Washington find some bankers ask more questions and request more particularly from young companies, than they did two or thre e years ago. But borrowers willing to do theird homework are stillgettingy attention, particularly from smaller banks.
At the peak of the real estatee bubble, some lenders might not have askecd for three years of financial informationb and a business plan up saidHarry DeWolf, district director of the and Southwest Washington. "What they are doing now is enforcingy theirestablished procedures," DeWolf said. Large national banks have been affectedd by the credit crunch more than smallercommunityg banks, said David chief credit officer and chief lending officer for in Vancouver. "Wwe would be a little more conservative than others in thefirstf place," Dahlstrom said.
While Riverview has seen less demanddfor mortgage, construction and land development loanse recently, commercial lending has held up, said Ron president and chief operating officer. "Wre continue to see projects being done; we continue to see a fair level of demanfd and our numbers basicallhy bear that out in terms of lending Wysaske said. Even if a bank'se lending criteria haven't changed, borrowers exposesd to certain risks, like residential real estate or the pricreof energy, cannot escape the impact of externalk factors that affect the broader Lenders must take these broader market conditions and trends into account as they make loan decisions, said Bob chief executive of , headquartered in Lake "Our basic lending standards have remained the same; they are just appliedr in context of the current economicc environment," said Sznewajs.
That many Pacific Northwest banks, particularly community banks, seem to have escapeed the worst part of the creditcrunch that's weighinvg down their counterparts in Florida, Nevada and Northern "Banks that had a balanced portfoliio of commercial products, regular residential loans, commercial loans and customeer bases -- they've done quite well, and they haven'tr seen a dip at all," DeWolf said. SBA-guarantee loans in this region are down only abouy 1 percent this year over levels seen ayear ago, compared with a nearly 20 percen decline in Florida, DeWolf said.
Whilde some business borrowers may have to provide more informatioj toget loans, business owners themselves are giving more thoughtr to healthy business expansion. Webb, who was a sculptorr before she opened her businessin 1999, said she learnerd a lot setting up the originakl business plan along with her husband, Henry Grimmett, in 1999. Glassd Alchemy now has 16 full-time employees and makes colorerd glass rods used by glass artists to make beads andother objects.
"As cautious as the banks are, we as businesse owners should be as cautious with the stepswe take," said As much as Webb would like to exchange her 10,000-square-foog building for one measuring 15,00p to 20,000 square feet to house her growing business, she's waitinfg for the right price. She'sa also considering buying somenew equipment, costing betweebn $65,000 and $85,000, that would expanrd her product line.