At some point in life, you may have wished for a unified theory that can help you maintain a good credit score, get all types of loans approved, and deal with your mortgages. A magical theory, that you can just grasp and “Tadaaaa” all these banks and business-related stuff is figured out. Sounds too good to be true? Well, not anymore. There are Four simple fundamental principles that you can just learn and follow. Yes! The 4 C’s of credit.
These Four Cs of Credit contain answers to the questions, criteria, factors, and qualifications that determine the approval or denial of a loan. No matter if it’s a bank or some mortgage lender, just stick to the basics and you are good to go. Also, it can exponentially help you out in maintaining a great credit score.
What are the 4 C’s of Credit?
You’re undoubtedly aware that your credit score is significant when applying for a loan. However, your credit score isn’t the only thing banks and other lending organizations evaluate when approving you for a loan. When reviewing your loan application, lenders normally evaluate four major aspects. The following criteria, known as the “4 C’s of Credit,” outline what lenders look for in the approval process for major loans. Let’s have a look at them in a nutshell.
- Character
- Collateral
- Capacity
- Credit Score
These four variables are referred to together as the Four C’s of Credit. Capacity is the most significant factor since it impacts your capacity to repay a loan. Nonetheless, lenders examine all four factors when approving you for a loan. Only, on that basis, you can maintain the other three criteria, including the credit score itself.
Why these 4 Cs of Credit are Important?
Despite the fact that the main credit rules are the same, lenders see business loans differently from personal loans. The lender is primarily concerned with the business’s credit. That’s OK for an established firm, but what about a startup? In this scenario, the lender must consider the business owner’s credit.
Turns out business loans are the riskiest type of loan, lenders are far more stringent in their requirements. Don’t be shocked if your personal credit history, as well as the credit of the company, is investigated.
Lending institutions, such as FFCU, realize that every credit arrangement contains a certain degree of risk for which the borrower may be held liable. When you ask for credit, these four major criteria act as a break or make factor. In turn, influences whether your loan application is approved or denied.
4 Cs of Credit – Explained in Detail
Here is every subtle detail you need to know about them.
Character ~ of the Borrower
Character is the “common sense” aspect that lenders examine when reviewing loan applications. It is your borrower’s reputation that is at stake. Lenders examine your history and financial stability in the past to determine how responsible you are and how accountable you are gonna be in the future.
Character, unlike the other C’s of the 4 c’s of credit, is not quantifiable, which means it cannot be evaluated on a scale or directly compared to the character of others. So, for certain borrowers, the character might help them secure a loan since it is the aspect that allows a lender to evaluate your unique narrative when deciding whether or not to lend to you.
However, because the character is not clearly measurable, it is not generally enough to secure you a loan on its own. Lenders look first at your collateral, credit score, and capacity, and will normally examine your character only if the other three aspects do not allow them to make a clear “Yes or No” decision.
Collateral ~ to Ensure the Loan’s Security
Collateral are assets that a lender might seize if a borrower defaults on his or her loan. The collateral for an automobile loan is generally the automobile itself.
When a lender makes a car loan, the loan-to-value, or LTV, of the vehicle, is taken into account. The LTV is the ratio of how much you wish to borrow to the value of the automobile on the open market. An LTV of 100 percent suggests that you are borrowing the same amount of money that the automobile you are purchasing is worth. If your LTV is greater than 100%, you are borrowing more than the automobile is worth, which you may do for a variety of reasons.
Lenders examine LTVs when examining vehicle loan applications in order to limit the amount of money they may lose if a loan default occurs. If a borrower defaults on a car loan, the lender will repossess the vehicle in order to recoup the money lost on the loan. In other words, the vehicle serves as security for the loan. However, if a lender lends more money on a vehicle loan than the automobile is truly worth, it will not be able to recoup all of its loan losses by repossessing the automobile. Lenders normally set an upper limit on how high they will allow an LTV to be on any vehicle loans they offer to prevent themselves from losing too much money in the event of loan default.
Credit Score ~ of the Person
The terrible word, credit! That’s what many people consider it to be. The fact is that the number behind your credit score does not have to be that enigmatic.
Your payment history determines your credit score. The three credit bureaus (Equifax®, TransUnion®, and Experian®) employ a sophisticated program from the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) to analyze your payment history and evaluate you on a scale of 300 to 850, with 300 being the worst and 850 being the best. These are known as FICO® Scores, and they only differ between credit bureaus when the information they have on your credit history differs. Other forms of credit scores exist, however FICO Scores are the most often used by lenders.
Credit ratings are determined by how well a person repays debts in comparison to other people with credit histories.
For example, if you make no changes to how you manage your money and the rest of the economy becomes less financially responsible at the same time, your credit score will rise without you having to do anything. It’s because of this relative scaling that getting a FICO Score of 300 or 850 is nearly unattainable. The average FICO score is roughly 680, however many people have scores that are lower or higher than that.
Capacity ~ to Repay
Capacity is frequently the most crucial of the Four Cs of Credit. The ability of a borrower to repay his or her debt is referred to as capacity.
Obviously, a lender will examine your capacity to repay a loan when evaluating you for a loan, but various lenders will assess this capacity in various ways. these are some of the factors that the lender may analyze.
- How much debt do you have in calculation to your income?
- How much credit card debt do you have in relation to your monthly gross income?
- Your revolving credit card debt (debt that you take on and pay off regularly, like credit card debt)
- Your monthly disposable income is equal to your net income (after taxes) minus your monthly loan payments.
This list is by no means complete, but it should give you a sense of the kind of questions lenders aim to answer when assessing a potential borrower’s capability. Each lender has its own set of criteria for determining an applicant’s capability, but in general, lenders want to see that a loan application is capable of managing his or her monthly budget.
Wrapping Up the Four Cs of Credit!!!
As you can see, the old adage “banks only lend money to those who don’t need it” holds true when it comes to credit. To receive a business loan, you’ll need to do the following:
- Have great personal and business credit ratings
- Demonstrate that your firm will produce enough revenue to repay the bank loan.
- Demonstrate the worth of the business’s assets in case they need to be sold to pay off the bank.
- Pledge your assets or find a co-signer who has assets to pledge if the firm fails.
In some cases, it may be easier to start your business with your own money. Anyway, we have tried our best to explain the fundamentals (4 c’s of credit) to you. If you think it helped you then don’t forget to leave a comment and read other articles on our website. Till then, best of luck to you.
