Six ways to borrow
Borrowing for a delivery van is not the same as borrowing to cover a slow February, and the structure should say so.
What to bring to an application
Every lender asks for roughly the same file, and gathering it once saves two weeks of back and forth. Bring two years of filed business tax returns with all schedules, two years of personal returns for each owner holding 20% or more, a year-to-date profit and loss statement and balance sheet, and a business debt schedule listing every loan, lease and card balance with its payment and payoff. If you invoice customers, add an accounts receivable aging report. If your operating account is somewhere else, add three months of statements.
From there the path is short. A thirty minute conversation tells you whether the request is likely to work before you chase paperwork. Your banker writes the credit memo and presents it locally, and you get a call with questions rather than a silent decline. Complete files typically get an answer in about three business days, and term loan proceeds hit your Summit business checking the day you close. Bring questions to 800.555.7846 or read the lending disclosures first.
Every request under $250,000 is decided in this county
Business lending decisions are made locally by the team at your branch, not by a model in a distant processing center. The person who reads your debt schedule is the person you can call afterward. That is also why a rough year does not end the conversation: write a short explanation of what happened and what changed, and it goes in front of the committee alongside the numbers.
What business credit costs here
Your rate depends on time in business, cash flow coverage, collateral and credit history; the figures below are the floors.
All credit subject to approval and verification of income, collateral and business financial condition. Origination and third-party costs may apply and are disclosed before you sign. Rates current as of July 2026 and subject to change. Membership eligibility required. This is a demonstration website; rates, products, and figures shown are illustrative only.
Underwriting, guarantees and timing
How long does my business need to have been open?
Two years of filed returns is the general standard. We do lend to newer companies when the owner has years in the same trade, signed contracts in hand and collateral behind the request, so ask before you rule yourself out.
Will I have to sign personally?
On nearly every small business loan, yes. A personal guarantee from each 20% owner is standard across the industry. It does not put your house on the line by itself; that only happens if you separately pledge the property as collateral.
What is debt service coverage and what do you want to see?
It compares cash flow to loan payments. We look for at least $1.20 of cash flow for every $1.00 of annual debt service, including the new loan. If yours comes in close, a longer term or a larger down payment usually gets it there.
Do you charge prepayment penalties?
Term loans and lines of credit have none, so paying ahead simply saves you interest. Fixed-rate commercial real estate loans carry a step-down prepayment schedule that is spelled out in the commitment letter before you sign anything.
Can I refinance a loan I have somewhere else?
Often, and it is one of the more common requests we see. Bring the current note and a payoff figure. If the payment drops or the term fits your cash flow better, we show you the comparison in writing before you commit.
Do I need to move my operating account here first?
No, though most borrowers do eventually. If your checking is elsewhere, bring three months of statements so we can see deposit patterns. Payments can be drafted from any account, and you can watch the balance in online banking either way.
Start with a conversation, not a form
Tell a business banker what you are trying to build and get a straight answer about whether it will fly.