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Message to women entrepreneurs: Look out, they're after you. Fortunately, the "they" in this case is banks, and what they're after is your business. "Most banks, as a matter of strategy, are paying close attention to the women's market," says Janet Slaughter Eissenstat, spokesperson for the American Banking Assn. in Washington, D.C. "They are recognizing women as a force in this marketplace."
It's nice to be wanted. But don't get overconfident. "Close attention" is one thing, but you won't get special treatment during the loan review process just because of your gender. That would be discrimination, and it's illegal whether directed against women or men. "If I walk into bank and want a loan, it doesn't matter if I'm a man or a woman. Gender is irrelevant," Eissenstat says.
But there's no law against making women feel more at ease with the lending process. And that's what many banks are doing, blitzing potential customers with information and setting internal lending targets. Wells Fargo & Co. is one notable example. In 1995, Wells Fargo set a 10-year goal to lend $10 billion to women entrepreneurs. Sound ambitious? By 1999, the bank was well ahead of the target, lending an average of $1.5 billion each year to women entrepreneurs. FleetBoston Financial has set a similar goal.
Bear in mind that lending targets are goals, not promises. Women entrepreneurs still need to meet rigorous credit qualifications to get a loan, cautions Julie Cripes, president of Omnibank in Houston. "All banks are in the risk-mitigation business. We're not giving away free money," Cripes says. "The money may be targeted to women-owned businesses, but we're all looking for well-run profitable businesses that can put our money to good use."
That explains why many banks are targeting women entrepreneurs with educational offerings and networking opportunities, to help them get profitable before they actually apply for a loan. "Entrepreneurs in general often have a lack of training in putting together a business plan or making a financial projection," Cripes observes. "For women, it can become a big emotional block as well as a practical one."
To help them get credit-ready, many banks, including Chase Manhattan and Omnibank, direct women entrepreneurs to community and private resources such as the Small Business Administration's Small Business Development Centers and the Service Corps of Retired Executives.
So what does this attention amount to for women entrepreneurs? The bright side is that today, gender is far from your biggest concern when it comes to finding capital. But gender won't help you much either, especially if your business fundamentals aren't in place. Women entreprenuers can clearly expect increased marketing efforts lobbed at their mailboxes and TV screens. In the final analysis, "the products and services are the same," for male or female borrowers, admits Jackie Baer-Cowdery, senior vice-president for small-business services at Key Bank in Cleveland. "It gets back to tailoring your message and getting people to feel comfortable doing business with you."
But even if much of the attention amounts to little more than a friendly new attitude, that's a welcome change.
By
Alison Stein Wellner
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