Giving SMEs the proverbial shot-in-the-arm

Asiatrust Bank, one of the country’s lending thrift bank, has added a new feature in its list of bank products called SME Helpdesk. This banking innovation set up for small and medium-enterprises complements Asiatrust’s efforts to service Filipino entrepreneurs especially during these times when the growth of businesses is hampered by the impact of a weak global economy.

The creation of the SME Helpdesk allow entrepreneurs and loan borrowers to receive sound, professional advise in determining the prospects of a business venture before securing a loan.

Marcial Bongolan, head of credit analysis, says the Helpdesk assists budding entrepreneurs to analyze the potentials of their business plans and ideas for starting up or expanding operations.

Unlike large-scale businesses, SMEs are often informally managed with assets of less than P100 million. Because of relatively smaller operations, these enterprises have proven to be more resilient and flexible with the wave of business trends.

Applying for a loan at Asiatrust Bank is also made simple and easy. With 28 branches in Metro Manila, Asiatrust offers the longest banking hours from 8:30 a.m. — 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, plus weekend banking services at selected branches including those inside malls such as Nova Plaza, Tutuban Center and Ever-Commonwealth Mall. A visit at any of the branches opens access to the Helpdesk. The latter is also available through the bank’s website www.asiatrustbank.com.

The business plan

After fulfilling document requirements, one simply has to provide accurate projections in sales and profit to qualify for a loan. Applicants need to show funding/capital resources, and a list of customers and suppliers as well. By doing so, the entrepreneur can decide for himself if a business loan really is the solution to his plans.

"A good business plan is thus a self-help exercise for entrepreneurs and makes a good communication portfolio for prospective lenders," according to Bongolan. A business plan should be informative in order that a good evaluation of the business can be made by the lending company. It should contain information about the nature of the business, its key products and services, and other financial information such as income statements and balance sheets. The plan should also identify future problems it may encounter and how these obstacles will be resolved.

For loan borrowers, lenders are also interested in market information, which includes the existing structure and size of the market, and the major players in the industry.