As we are trying to reopen our businesses, here are five lessons that our CEO Wendy Cai-Lee shared with CNBC for entrepreneurs to consider for their businesses post-PPP. “Aside from stress-testing themselves, entrepreneurs should understand the impact of their constituents,” said Wendy Cai-Lee, CEO of Piermont Bank. Read more on how it pays to have a local banking relationship, know a CPA and maintain a bank account for your business:
Piermont Bank are sizing the moment to help commercial real estate developers, owners and operators as big banks become timid in the shaky pandemic economy. “We’ve had a multitude of clients that were about to close deals with an existing bank,” said Robert Rynarzewski, head of commercial real estate at Piermont, “but the bank won’t return their phone calls. They’re leaving their clients at the closing table.”
Today there’s more uncertainty in the commercial real-estate market. Many lenders are telling clients they are “waiting to see how the market will play out.” Challenged by growing defaults, lenders are focused on tightening structures across their client base.
Reopening is on top of many business owners’ minds. We’ve seen throughout this pandemic the importance of stress testing your business and evaluate critical factors like cash flow, supply chains, sales channels, and business partner relationships before determining the best path forward. Our CEO Wendy Cai-Lee is quoted by The New York Times on how businesses can pivot to survive.
The current crisis has validated Piermont’s goal to serve small to medium-sized businesses with borrowing needs between $1 million and $10 million. “Because we have a very clean balance sheet, strong capital position and cash position, we are one of the few out there actively doing new lending.