[HMHNYC]

I hope that what I'm about to say, resonates with at least some of you.

One of the most significant shortcomings within our industry, in my eyes, lies in our inability to elevate businesses [who are both willing and capable] beyond the confines of lender rankings and, eventually, out of this space altogether. We're all familiar with those borrowers who have endured 14 renewals with CFG, maintaining a FICO score of 520, holding 3 positions, seeing their revenue double, and sustaining strong cashflow with a 35% remit. This represents just one of the industry's many failings, but I'm willing to bet that each day, you all encounter something that's broken and easily fixable, yet nothing changes.

Why are D lenders the only ones in on a business that's growing and paying just because of poor credit and a high remittance? How can we see past this?

Why do entire industries get banished due to a brief period of underperformance when there are countless external factors influencing the success of a deal?

Has anyone ever analyzed the performance data between funding at a 1.40 versus a 1.499? That's a ~20% reduction in the cost of capital, which could have a huge impact on a borrower, and I'd be curious to see how large of an impact you'd actually see, especially when your average term of 110 days. Not to mention that most of us are fee-based platforms and the cost of capital reduction has no impact on your revenue. But aside from the potential financial gains, think about the positive impact you could have on our industry, even if it's just a step in the right direction relative to its current state.

I know that our primary goal is to make money, and we operate in a nefarious industry. However, we also play a crucial role in supporting the backbone of the economy by bridging the gaps left by traditional banks.

There will always be 10,000 daily applicants for fundings and we could continue to fund and forget for the rest of our lives, perpetuating the predatory industry stereotype. But why aren't more people willing to change the narrative? I'm not referring to companies like OnDeck, Can Capital, and Biz2Credit, who aren't even participates in the conversation, but to everyone within the B-D space. Don't you believe that a shift in direction could benefit not only your company but also the future of the entire industry?

Maybe I'm being naive, would love perspective here. If these aren't things we can change, what can we? Or is this the fate of our industry?

[Olderguy]

Have you heard the story about the scorpion and the frog? Scorpion can't help himself - it's his nature. It's all about the "Benjamins".