According to an article on the Business Lexington website, people are characterizing the tightening -- if not freezing -- of equine lending in different ways. Some say it's a 'bump;' others say it's a 'correction,' but at the end of the day what it is, is 'here.'
The report cites David Switzer of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association as saying that just two years ago there was $1 billion in lending for the state's equine industry. The article says that figure has since been sliced in half, and that more cutting is expected.
The article states that two of the major equine lenders in Lexington – the Fifth Third Bank and PNC (formerly National City) – have restricted or are phasing out equine lending.
Among other things, Keeneland president Nick Nicholson was quoted as saying, "it's one of the most significant issues in the thoroughbred market, and it may surprise people to hear that, but this is a business just like any other business. And to a large degree, capital and access to capital is what keeps the business engine moving."
"Things are a lot tighter in the market. There are some banks that have advised their clients that they're no longer interested in equine loans, and it's created a liquidity shortage," Bob Beck, a thoroughbred owner and attorney with Stites & Harbison in Lexington, was quoted as saying.
Click here to the read the Business Lexington article in its entirety.
(With files from Business Lexington)
While we may justifiably
While we may justifiably hate the banks(for good reasons)they like the rats who are the first to leave a sinking ship are a good forecaster of where things are going!!