Company FAQs

WBC is a commercial finance company and direct lender that offers long-term loans for middle market businesses and projects with an existing or planned international aspect to their operations such as cross-border trade or direct investment. Our business and project borrowers generally have annual revenue in the range of $10 million to $200 million.  Our financial institution borrowers generally have total assets in the range of $25 million to $500 million.  We focus on lending to businesses in the following sectors:  manufacturing, distribution, logistics, transportation, agribusiness, food processing, packaging, franchising, renewables, and equipment leasing.

All borrowers must have some form of U.S. affiliation:

• Headquarters/primary operations located within the United States; or
• Headquarters/primary operations located outside the United States but significant operations located within the United States; or
• Significant ownership stake held by U.S. business, investment fund, or citizen; or
• Leading management or board role played by a U.S. citizen; or
• Long-term trade, licensing, or services agreement with an established U.S. party

WBC offers long-term loans for businesses and projects located in international emerging markets throughout Latin America & the Caribbean, Eastern Europe & Eurasia, South Asia, East Asia, and Africa.

In addition, WBC offers long-term loans for businesses and projects in the United States that are located outside of urban areas.

Just provide WBC with the location of your business/project, and we will let you know immediately if it is eligible for one of our loan programs.

WBC offers term loans with a repayment schedule of 5 to 20 years. We do not offer short-term lines of credit; however, our loans may complement new or existing credit lines provided by other lenders for accounts receivable, inventory, and purchase order financing.

The all-in cost of WBC’s long-term loans is very attractive compared with other forms of long-term capital available to middle market businesses and their principals such as mezzanine debt and equity. WBC offers both fixed, variable, and combined fixed/variable interest rate pricing options.  In pricing a loan, WBC takes into account the repayment term and structure of the loan, as well as the borrower’s credit profile and project plan.

Yes, WBC’s loans are generally secured by first liens on assets related to the use of proceeds.  However, in its underwriting, WBC puts great emphasis on the borrower’s forecasted cash flow resulting from the project being financed, as well as on the track record of the business and its principals.  To support a term loan, collateral may include short-term and intangible assets and intellectual property rights with reasonable independent valuations, in addition to tangible assets such as equipment, fixtures, and real estate.

WBC does not require equity rights that dilute existing shareholder ownership, making our loans very attractive for family-owned, entrepreneur-owned, and private equity-controlled businesses. We also do not require seats on a borrower’s board of directors.

WBC will let you know within 5 business days following receipt of a business plan and preliminary financial information if we are interested in considering a loan opportunity.  If we proceed, we will provide you with a detailed Letter of Intent (LOI) for your consideration containing key terms and conditions of the proposed loan. WBC targets loan closings within 45 to 120 days of the borrower’s date of acceptance of our LOI, depending on the applicable loan program.

Yes, we recommend that you engage an attorney to advise you through the loan documentation and closing process.  WBC’s highly experienced lending team, counsel in many jurisdictions around the world, and standard form documents help minimize legal expenses for a loan transaction.  Your attorney’s fees and other closing costs may be financed with loan proceeds under WBC’s programs.

WBC does not generally offer loans for start-up businesses. However, we will consider financing for a greenfield project undertaken by an existing business to develop new products or establish new geographical locations. If your financing needs cannot be met by WBC’s loan programs, we will do our best to connect you with better-suited sources of capital.

We encourage you to email or call a member of WBC’s lending team – we are available at your convenience!  In order to conduct an initial evaluation of your loan request, WBC will require a business plan, ownership information, two years of fiscal financial statements plus the most recent interim financial statements available, and the proposed loan size and use of proceeds.