Business Lending Startup Costs Typically Range Between $250,000 and $500,000

The costs to add business lending to a credit union's offerings vary but according to Pat Spencer, credit union solutions manager at Baker Hill, "at the very least, to do it right and not put 100% of the burden of getting the entire department up and running on the new incoming lender" here's a general breakdown of the expenses: STAFFING *Commercial Lender $100,000 (including salary, incentives and benefits, 7-10 years experience based on Midwest numbers); *Credit Analyst $50,000 (including salary, incentives and benefits with 5-7 years experience, based on Midwest numbers); *Loan Operations Asst. $40,000 (Including salary, incentives and benefits with 3-5 years experience, based on Midwest numbers) TECHNOLOGY *Underwriting $10,000 - $18,000; *Loan Origination $28,000 - $50,000; *Exception Tracking $10,000 - $20,000 (may include an interface to the core processor/mainframe); * Document Preparation $25,000 - $40,000; *Hardware $20,000 - $40,000 (new laptops, workstations, servers, etc. for the team) Spencer said the costs do not include marketing, which encompasses all of the brochures, new applications, advertising, signage, etc.; and ongoing training, which may be internal or may be provided by outside companies to come in and discuss business banking. While these numbers are "guestimates" and are based on general feedback from clients/prospects for a more "traditional" small business lender, Spencer said "if you add up the "high" numbers on this, you are at $358,000 which coincides with the $250,000 - $500,000 range that is usually discussed by consultants." -msamaad@cutimes.com