Lehigh Valley Lenders Network: Peer Review Program
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) and the
Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV) have collaborated to create and administer the Peer Review Program which makes it easier for qualified small businesses to secure credit in the Lehigh Valley.
The program brings 13 lending institutions, the Rising Tide Community Loan Fund and
The Small Business Development Center at Lehigh University together. Through the program, loans are considered for new or existing businesses that have previously been declined by a participating institution. To be considered, the applicant must have a fully-developed business plan, be at least marginally credit worthy and requesting an amount greater than $25,000.
How does it work?
In facilitating a systematic review of marginal commercial financing applications, the participating institutions, LVEDC and related lending entities carefully scrutinize the creditworthiness of the application, enabling a borrower to more quickly access alternative lending options, and allow community development lenders to better assess gaps in access to credit for the purpose of developing new tools to expand economic development in the Lehigh Valley.
The Project Review Process begins when an eligible loan is reviewed by a participating lender and subsequently rejected. The lender will then use its discretion to ascertain the creditworthiness of the borrower and potential for successful review by the Peer Review Committee.
A pool of eligible projects will be assembled according to packaging specifications set forth by the Committee and delivered to LVEDC and participating institutions as it was received and then reviewed at a formal meeting of the Committee. At the scheduled meeting a brief presentation on the loan project will be provided by the originating lender. Following the presentation, the lending institutions will have an opportunity to scrutinize the application’s potential. After discussion, a poll will be taken of member institutions to determine the desire to make the proposed loan or performing additional review of the request.
The 13 participating commercial lending institutions are: