Commercial Fishing Financing

Ask a dozen loan officers what their loan terms are and the first answer you get is, "it all depends" ! Each lending agency has guidelines to operate within which provide the loan officer with a certain amount of leeway to tailor terms to fit a fisherman's needs. Of course at the same time the lending agency's priorities must be considered, This means that as the terms are drawn up they will tend toward slightly higher interest, larger down payments, a shorter repayment schedule, more collateral, and perhaps additional financial backing as the lender's perception of the risk of non-payment increases. If the risk is minimal, the terms tend to be more favorable to the borrower.The loan officer's real task is to weigh the risk of non-payment against a customer's financial needs and juggle the financing variables so that both the company and the customer are satisfied.The following pages will describe the more conventional financial institutions serving the fishing industry. For those unusual or high-risk situations which conventional lenders shy away from, the prospective borrower should seek private investors and venture capitalists. Grant no. NA79AA-D-00138