The banking pool is part of the information that financial institutions request to grant credit to the company. This is a report that shows the company's risks with each of the banks with which it maintains open operations.
Although the concept seems simple, this document has great importance. Hence lies the need to know how to prepare and manage your banking pool effectively. For this reason we share with you the following information.
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What is a banking pool?
As we mentioned in the introduction, your company's banking pool is a report that details all the banking operations that the company has open, with the respective entities and their amount.
Thus, a banking pool acts as a map that indicates the company's live risk. It includes all operations that consume risk and reduce debt capacity, such as loans, leasing, guarantees, lines of credit and any other financing product.
What information do banks usually request?
When requesting financing, companies must have a bank negotiation dossier prepared. The banking pool, the subject of this article, is just one more document in this file. The aforementioned dossier is made up of legal, economic, financial, commercial documentation, etc.
Its correct preparation and management is essential to shorten the time in formalizing operations, having clarity about the needs and objectives, carrying out effective negotiation, establishing a policy of relations with financial entities, conveying that one has control of the business and a long etcetera.
Specifically, this is the information that banking entities usually request to study financing operations:
- General information of the company: company name, CNAE, contact information, number of employees, location, sector, products or services marketed, governing body, etc.
- Deed of incorporation and power of attorney.
- Economic and financial documentation: in addition to the accounting information, it is necessary to show the breakdown of risks with financial entities through the presentation of the banking pool. In addition, it would be a good idea to incorporate documentary verification of being up to date with payment compliance, as well as mention if the company has been involved in any type of incident.
- Documentation of the project that you want to carry out: the times, advantages and a financing table that shows how the company plans to make payments must be included.
- Annexes: audit reports, tax returns, catalogs and other institutional information of the company, CIRBE report, etc.
Is a banking pool the same as the CIRBE?
Although they may be similar, the banking pool is not the same as the report from the Risk Information Center of the Bank of Spain (CIRBE).
As you can see, the first is based on internal information of the company and the second represents external information: it is a public document provided by the Bank of Spain and that also shows the risks that the company has open with different banking entities.
In principle, not all operations are registered with the CIRBE; must exceed a certain amount (only operations that have an aggregate risk greater than €1,000 are included).
On the other hand, the company can provide more detailed and in-depth information on outstanding risks through the banking pool. In addition, there may also be differences when accounting for operations.
Finally, you should also keep in mind that alternative financing does not consume risk in the CIRBE. They are therefore not included in your report.
Now, although the banking pool is not identical to the CIRBE report, it should present a minimal difference. Otherwise the bank would doubt whether the company is transparent when negotiating.
Banking entities contrast all the information provided by the company with the external sources they have at their disposal. Any significant difference could be considered a manipulation in the data provided and may be grounds for denying the funding request.
How to make a banking pool?
Basically, when preparing your banking pool, it is necessary to incorporate the following information in each of the risk operations that you have open (although they can be grouped by entities):
- Name of the financial institution.
- Type of financing.
- Date on which the contract was signed.
- Due date.
- Amount requested.
- Type of interest.
- Amount of monthly installments.
- Balance pending return.
- Available credit balance.
- Guarantees and guarantees provided.
- An amortization table may be attached.
It is worth mentioning that it is also possible to create a banking pool for internal use of the company and not only to carry out a banking negotiation. In addition, its use internally is useful because it offers a clear view of the company's financial obligations and the planning of the corresponding payments.
In this case, the document can be adapted to the needs of the company.
Finally, we show you some tips to prepare and manage your banking pool effectively:
- It is important that accounting is up to date.
- Perform monthly bank reconciliations.
- Similarly, the banking pool must also be updated periodically.
- Design a template that displays information clearly and easy to read.
- Always compare the information with the CIRBE and detect significant differences.
You can contact an advisor to help you prepare and manage your banking pool and other information that allows you to meet your financial needs.
At Alter Finance we are specialists in alternative financing for companies, we also provide financial advisory and management services. We can help you find financing solutions for your projects.