Why is the story important?

Much of the B lending business relies on determining which of the applicants who experienced credit trouble have overcome whatever bad luck crashed their score(s) and are a good bet going forward. There is a big difference in risk between a person who is still racking up more debt and another person who has been stable for the prior 12 months with no new debt and a steady pay cheque. Please help us by explaining what caused each issue and how the applicant overcame it.

What do we find in bank statements?

Sensational stories are rare, even in B lending. We’re looking for affordability. Bank statements can reveal:

  • Support from the bank of mom and dad. Could be good if we can confirm continuance.
  • Existing mortgage payment bounced, then squared up with the lender before a late payment was triggered on the bureau.. sometimes numerous times.
  • Payday loans
  • Online purchase financing
  • Extra income
  • Useful guarantors
  • Additional bank accounts
  • VLT patterns
  • Gigadat (online gambling)
  • Tim’s (yes we’ve seen nearly 10 visits per day)
  • Support payment reliability
  • Onlyfans (goes both ways, may help or hinder the application)
  • Unsustainable cashflow patterns (low probability of enduring payment shock)
  • Exceptional cashflow patterns (supports adding a payment shock)
  • Sugar Daddies  (extra income, made the approval work)
  • Renovations
  • Capitalized mortgages (no payment ability confirmed)

Why so document heavy?

Some stories challenge our imagination. The documents are the most reliable mechanism to validate a story that supports a positive lending decision.

For example:

  • Bankruptcy docs may confirm applicant’s income was much lower 5 years ago when they were unable to pay their bills. Increased probability of approval
  • A separation agreement may confirm when a relationship first broke down and correlate with beginning of credit issues, or end of credit issues.
  • T1 statement of business activities schedule may confirm the applicant writes off a superhuman amount of living expenses through their business each year to artificially deflate their income.
  • Photos can identify show stopping property condition issues before our client spends $500 on an appraisal instead of groceries next week.