Business lending made easy

Business lending plays a crucial role in helping companies manage their cash flow and growth. While traditional lending structures have served specific business needs, BNZ recognises that today’s businesses face evolving challenges.

That’s why we’ve redesigned our business lending – so we can offer flexible lending options that will provide our business customers with enhanced tools for success.

I spoke to Ben Partington, who recently applied for financing, to see out how he found our new approach to lending.

“After 13 years, eight of which I was CEO, I was presented with the opportunity to acquire HYPER in a management buyout. An acquisition like this requires significant funding. It also relies on having a financial partner who can react quickly and recognise opportunities. Where other, more conservative banks hesitated, BNZ was that right kind of partner.”

Ben Partington
CEO
HYPER

Economic challenges

The past few years saw a number of economic challenges. Some businesses used loans and credit to ensure they could keep trading when times were tough. Over that period, interest rates increased, and many businesses saw their repayment costs rise.

While some of that pressure is starting to ease, there’s still additional financial stress on businesses. Repayments potentially make up a large portion of their outgoing costs. Interest rates are forecasted by economists to continue to come down in the next few years. But, without help, the current costs could see businesses falter before they feel this benefit.

Providing our bankers the tools to help businesses

Your banker, who deals with the day-to-day aspects of your business, will have a far better understanding of what you need than someone on the periphery who doesn’t know your situation as well. This is why our bankers have some of the highest decision-making discretion in the market. For instance, when Ben needed help, he turned to Olivia Donaldson, his business banker.

“Olivia took the time to learn about and understand our business, along with the potential and future opportunities our model provided. She saw the global growth in our sector, along with our vision and belief in the future, and believed we were in a position to deliver.”

Ben Partington
CEO
HYPER

We’ve also made recent enhancements to our various policies to support business success. Our bankers are now empowered to offer up to three years of interest-only payments for fully secured lending, provided customers meet certain lending criteria. Depending on the circumstances, they also have flexibility around personal guarantees to overcome some of the fear barriers of getting into business.

In addition, we’ve made changes to some amortisation terms which could help free up capital for some businesses, enabling them to react to opportunities and invest in future growth when it’s most needed.

“What really set BNZ’s offer apart was the loan’s term length – most loans of this size would have terms around five years. But BNZ was able to offer us far more, giving us time to find our feet, reducing our monthly payments, and making the whole deal viable. Without this forward-thinking and flexible approach, the buyout would not have been possible.”

Ben Partington
CEO
HYPER

How this can help businesses succeed

By reducing the payments a business needs to make now, when interest rates are high, we can provide some welcome relief. This will allow businesses to reinvest their profits in things like staff, assets or modernisation.

With more cash on hand to streamline production and improve efficiency, businesses will be able to increase their bottom line. This will put them in a stronger position, meaning they can then focus on their debt when they’re in the better position to do so.

And, with interest rates likely falling in the next few years, their interest payments will likely decrease as well.

“With lower monthly repayments, we have the cash flow to invest in the business and new opportunities. This will allow us to grow at a sustainable rate, further reducing financial pressures down the line and helping fund our future.”

Ben Partington
CEO
HYPER

Ensuring our decisions are correct for each business

As a bank, it’s vital we implement lending practices that protect our business customers, meet our risk requirements and adhere to the strict standards of regulators.

Our bankers put a lot of careful thought and research into their decisions – it’s why we have one of the lowest default rates among our financial institution peers. We have a great track record of providing suitable funding and making accurate lending decisions.

We look carefully at each business and provide funding options that match the evidence, analysis and life cycle of that business. For us, it’s about providing suitable options, so the business can focus on elements that are a higher priority to them at that time.

We want to see our customers thrive. If a business will benefit from interest-only payments, our bankers will have the power to offer it to them if it meets our lending criteria. If such an option is not suitable to that business, our bankers will work with them to find a more appropriate solution to their challenge.

“I can’t thank BNZ enough – without them, I wouldn’t be working with the team I’d hand-picked, and be the proud owner of my business. If you’re looking for a bank that will truly look at and understand your business, and will provide innovative solutions, BNZ are the ones to talk to.”

Ben Partington
CEO
HYPER

Any views expressed in this article are the personal views of Graeme Geurts and do not necessarily represent the views of BNZ, or its related entities. This article is solely for information purposes and is not intended to be financial advice. If you need help, please contact BNZ or your financial adviser. Neither BNZ nor any person involved in this article accepts any liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance on, all or any part of the content.