In a February 2016 article signed by Dan Barrett, the former CreditSquare challenged two assumptions. A decision by a high-street bank said little about all the other providers in the market. And even lenders willing to fund the same sector could look for different evidence.
Ask which part of the market the evidence covers
A market-wide supply indicator pools observations across businesses. A small firm with a single customer, a manufacturer with machinery available as collateral and an established group buying a rival present different risks. A loan can be available to one even when another cannot find terms it can accept. Business size, purpose, security and cash flow matter when reading any broad survey.
Set out the facts each lender needs
For an asset-backed facility, an aged list of invoices and an explanation of disputes may be central. For a term loan, a lender may need a forecast showing how the business can make scheduled payments even after a sales delay. The funding brief helps put those facts in one place.
The archive’s Q4 2015 credit release offers a concrete example of borrower survey responses moving differently from recorded activity.
Sources and further reading
- Historical CreditSquare page (Wayback Machine) — checked 2026-11-08