Loan Stars
With new technology at their fingertips, banks are opening their doors to small business.
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The way Bonita Schwartz figured it, being a small-business ownerand a woman to boot weren't helping at all in her search for asmall-business loan. But the times may be changing as newtechnology and shifts in the lending industry conspire to makeloans available to capital-hungry entrepreneurs.
Schwartz's story dates back to 1985 when she formed SchwartzResearch Services Inc. in Tampa, Florida, offering consumerresearch services. By 1993, business was so good, she went lookingfor a loan to build a focus group facility and corporateheadquarters. She naturally turned first to her bank, which had allher personal and business accounts, and applied for a $350,000loan. "When the loan officer called to ask if I had gotten thebusiness from my husband in a divorce," says Schwartz, "Iknew the loan request was going to be turned down." She wasright.
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