Archived postings from November, 2008...

Papa John to the rescue of franchisees

Posted: Wed, November 19, 2008 at 8:27pm (CST)

Papa John\'s has unveiled a new initiative to assist franchisees. The measures include targeted royalty relief and a lenders summit to be held at the company\'s headquarters.
Yahoo Finance November 18, 2008

GE Capital to reorganize and pare $2 billion in operating costs

Posted: Wed, November 19, 2008 at 7:52am (CST)

GE Capital plans to create a rerestructuring group which will reduce their exposure to non-strategic assets. This will result in a reduction in workforce said Bill Cary, chief operating officer of GE Capital. Based on what we learned at the recent Restaurant Finance & Development Conference, GE Capital Solutions, Franchise Finance is expected to survive the restructuring, but provide less funding on an annual basis than in prior years.
GE Capital Website November 18, 2008

SBA changes loan pricing rules for lenders to get money flowing again

Posted: Mon, November 17, 2008 at 8:32am (CST)

SBA loans can now be priced using the one-month LIBOR rate as a benchmark. Previously, SBA loans could only be made using the prime rate as the benchmark. This simple change should improve the overall liquidity situation by making it easier to sell SBA loans into the secondary markets.
Yahoo Finance November 13, 2008

SBA lending tightened according to Wall Street Journal

Posted: Wed, November 05, 2008 at 2:33pm (CST)

SBA loans made under the 7(a) program were down 30% in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008.
Wall Street Journal November 4, 2008

No surprise here: Commercial lending tightens according to Fed loan officer study

Posted: Wed, November 05, 2008 at 6:31am (CST)

The Federal Reserve reports that 85 percent of domestic banks, up substantially from 60 percent in the July survey reported having tightened lending standards on commercial and industrial loans to large and middle market firms over the past three months.
Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey