My Bank Said No After Twelve Years. What Do I Do Now?

In the first episode of Conversations with Yas, a business owner who has just been knocked back by their bank discovers that a bank’s no is not the market’s no.

Editorial Note The conversation in this episode is entirely fictional and has been created for illustrative purposes only. It does not represent a real client, a real business, or a real transaction. Any resemblance to actual persons or businesses is coincidental. The objective of this article is to demonstrate what an initial conversation with Yasmine looks like in practice, how she listens, how she thinks, and how she maps out the next steps so a client always knows exactly where they stand and what comes next.

Every week business owners across Australia hear the same word from their bank. No. Sometimes it comes with an explanation. Often it does not. And for a business owner who has done everything right, paid on time, built something real, and trusted their bank to grow with them, that word can feel like a verdict rather than a process outcome.

It is not a verdict. It is the start of a different conversation.

In this episode of 5 Questions with Yas, I sit down with a business owner who has just been declined by their bank of twelve years and walk them through what comes next. The questions are real. The approach is exactly what I would bring to that first conversation.

The Client

I have been with my bank for twelve years. I have never missed a payment. I went to them for a $500,000 commercial loan to expand my business and they said no. I am devastated and honestly a bit lost. What do I do now?

Yasmine

I am sorry this has happened. Rest assured we are going to get to the bottom of this together.

The first thing I want you to understand is that a bank’s no is not a reflection of you or your business. For a lender, this is a process exercise. Their systems assess your numbers against their policy and criteria, and if something does not fit neatly into their box, the answer comes back as a decline. It is not personal, even though it absolutely feels that way.

Can I ask, who is your bank?

The Client

NAB. I have been with them since I started the business. They know me, they know my accountant. I thought that would count for something.

Yasmine

I understand NAB very well and there are multiple angles we can look at here. But before we talk about lenders, I want to understand your business first.

Tell me how you generate revenue and who your customers are. How long have you been trading? And what was the $500,000 actually for?

Why this question matters

Most brokers go straight to the numbers. I go to the business first. Understanding how a business generates revenue, who its customers are, and what the money is actually for tells me far more about fundability than a set of financials alone. The story behind the numbers is what I take to a lender.

The Client

We have been trading for eight years. Commercial cleaning. About fifteen contracts, mostly with property managers. Revenue comes in monthly on invoice, paid within 30 to 45 days. Last financial year we turned over about $2.2 million. We are profitable but margins are tight because of labour costs. The $500,000 was to replace vehicles and take on two new contracts I have been offered.

Yasmine

Thank you for sharing that. Eight years of trading, $2.2 million in revenue, fifteen contracts with established property managers. That is a solid business with a real track record.

I would love to understand more about your goals. Not just for the next few months but for the next six and twelve months as well. What would your finance need to look like for you to feel truly successful a year from now?

The Client

In three months I need to replace two vehicles, they are costing more to repair than they are worth. In six months I want to take on two new contracts with a large property management group, which means four new staff and additional equipment. At twelve months I want to step back from being on the tools and into a management role. When I think about it properly, $500,000 probably is not even enough. I think I need closer to $650,000.

Yasmine

This is really helpful and it tells me something important. You came to your bank with a number. What you actually needed was a strategy. Those are two very different conversations and most banks are only set up for one of them.

Do you have a cashflow forecast in place? And have you spoken with your accountant about these goals yet?

The Client

No cashflow forecast. My accountant does our end of year work and our BAS but we do not really have those kinds of conversations. I have not told him about the NAB decline yet. I am a bit embarrassed about it.

Yasmine

There is absolutely no need to feel embarrassed. A bank decline is a process outcome, not a judgement on you or your business. Call your accountant today and loop him in. He needs to know so that he can support what we are about to do together.

Here is how I would like to approach this. I am going to break your funding needs into three phases so that each piece is solved in the right order and nothing creates a problem for the next step.

Phase 1 is the vehicles. Send me quotes for the trucks you want to buy and let me know what you think the existing ones might fetch if you sold them. We can move quickly on asset finance for this piece.

Phase 2 is the working capital for your two new contracts. I will need your accounts receivable and payables ledger, examples of your client agreements and invoices, and your bank statements. I will send you a secure link to share those with me automatically. This will allow me to find you the right cashflow facility to support the new contracts from day one.

Phase 3 is the longer-term bank funding, an overdraft or line of credit, once Phase 1 and Phase 2 are in place and we have built a stronger picture of your business for a major lender. When we get to that stage I would love an introduction to your banker at NAB so I can pick up that conversation directly. I will also approach other major banks and non-bank lenders to make sure we get you the best possible pricing and service.

We can have Phase 1 and Phase 2 completed in two to three weeks. How does that sound?

“You came to your bank with a number. What you actually needed was a strategy. Those are two very different conversations.”

The lesson from this conversation

A bank decline is rarely the end of the road. It is usually a signal that the wrong lender was approached, the wrong product was requested, or the strategy was not structured in a way that matched what the lender needed to see.

In this case, an eight-year-old business with $2.2 million in revenue and fifteen established contracts is fundable. The bank’s no did not change that. What changed is the approach. By breaking the funding need into three phases, matching each phase to the right lender and product, and building the business case properly before approaching a bank for the larger facility, the outcome looks completely different.

If your bank has said no, the first step is not to apply somewhere else. It is to understand why, what you actually need, and what the right structure looks like. That is what we do.

Conversations with Yas — Series

Coming up in this series

Episode 1: When the Bank Says No
Episode 2: Three Attempts to Borrow Money. No Success. Am I Fundable?
Episode 3: The ATO Debt Question
Episode 4: My Credit Score Is Damaged. Can I Still Get Finance?
Episode 5: Should I Buy a House or Invest in My Business First?
Episode 6: I Run a Trust and the Banks Keep Saying No
Episode 7: My Business Is Behind on Rent and Invoices. Is It Too Late?
Episode 8: We Are a Not-for-Profit and Every Lender Has Said No
Episode 9: I Want to Buy a Commercial Property but My Group Structure Is Complex

Your funding journey starts here.

Every great outcome starts with a single conversation. Book a call with Yasmine and let us map out what is possible for your business, the options available to you, and the strategy to get you there.

Book a call

Conversations with Yas is a content series produced by Impact Brokers. The client scenario in this episode is fictional and is used for illustrative purposes only. It does not represent a specific individual or business. This content does not constitute financial, legal, or credit advice. Readers should seek independent professional advice before making any financial decision. Yasmine Shah, Authorised Credit Representative No. 540047, operates under QED Credit Services Pty Ltd ACL 387856, trading as Impact Brokers, Ethical Finance Australia Pty Ltd ABN 12 601 144 932.