Credibility Capital Enters The Digital Age of SME Lending

Credibility Capital isn’t new to the small business lending world, having launched as a provider of loans to prime credit SME borrowers through the leadership of Brett Baris, with nearly two decades of financial services experience.

On Monday (April 13), Credibility Capital entered a new era of small business lending through the launch of its online matchmaking tool. Its site takes Credibility Capital’s services to the digital arena. According to Baris, the company’s president, the online lending marketplace was developed to fill the ongoing void that emerged following the 2008 financial crisis, which made it more difficult for small business owners to access working capital.

The company has partnered with Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, the firm announced, to accurately assess businesses’ credibility and lending needs and make more confident decisions regarding which potential lender would be a good fit for each borrower.

“Because of our partnership model, we can drive down borrower acquisition costs and pass on the savings to small businesses while at the same time delivering an attractive return to our institutional investors,” Baris said of the collaboration.

According to Credibility Capital, the firm works with hedge funds, insurance companies, family offices and mainstream banks to secure small business lending. A range of data in addition to creditworthiness is used to determine application status and interest rate of approved SME borrowers, the firm added. Credibility Capital can offer up to $150,000 in funding for business lenders.

Credibility Capital cited recent research from Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, in conjunction with Pepperdine University, which found that in the first quarter of 2015, 63 percent of businesses surveyed said they find it challenging to access equity financing, while 61 percent said it is difficult to access debt financing. The state of borrowing is worse for the smallest companies, the research found, as businesses with less than $5 million in annual revenue revealed just a 35 percent approval rate for bank loans. According to Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, that figure is an 8 percent decline from the year prior.