Credit crunch gnaws at local small business owners

Boat dealer Dan McFadden saw the face of trouble a few weeks ago when he tried to arrange a loan for a buyer with impeccable credit and a big income.

“I had to go through three banks that specialized in marine loans before I could find one that would provide the financing,” said McFadden, president of Central Florida Boating Center in Orlando. “Here was a guy with a near-perfect credit score who was willing to put down $20,000 on a $50,000 boat.”

Small business owners, even those with long-standing relationships with banks, are complaining loudly about the dramatic collapse in bank lending. Even those whose credit lines remain untouched say their suppliers are having problems with financing and their customers can’t borrow.

The Federal Reserve’s most recent loan survey found 85 percent of U.S. banks clamped down on lending standards in the past three months, restricting loans to small businesses and the real estate industry as they put limits on consumer credit lines.

Source:http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008