The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has completed the annual survey of its members to find out what a broker looks for when dealing with a lender.

 

The most important factor to brokers is speed of response with 91.3% of members rating is as either extremely or very important. The next key selling point for brokers is competitive pricing, with 87.6% of brokers rating this as either extremely or very important. Other characteristics that a broker looks for in the ideal lender are risk appetite (72.6%) and an existing relationship (68%). Despite being a bit of a hot topic currently, only 50% of brokers rated commission paid as either extremely or very important – and of this figure less than a third (14.3% of the total respondents) rated commission as extremely important.           

The least important factor to brokers is international presence, with only 7 and a half percent of respondents rating this as either extremely or very important. Reciprocity also scored some of the lowest figures with only around 23% of respondents rating this as either extremely or very important.           

 

Chief executive of the NACFB, Adam Tyler, explains: “The results of this survey show that the speed of a lenders decision is by far and away the most important consideration for brokers. If a lender is serious about the broker channel, this should be the area above all others that they concentrate on getting right. Getting the deal done for a client is often more important than the price of the finance.

 

Lenders and lessors aren’t able to become members of the Association, membership is restricted to commercial finance brokers only, but lenders who can see the benefits of working with brokers can become Patrons of the Association. Currently, Patronage of the Association stands at around 80 lenders from across the whole commercial finance market. This survey offers some insight into what a broker is looking for from a lender and also allows a lender who uses the broker route to market to concentrate their resources on the areas that matter most.