Sterling Financial Group is seeing an increase in its loan activity over the past several month evidenced by its recent $2 million in financing for an Albany homeowner, with the head of the firm saying its versatility as a lender made it an attractive partner to provide funding for high profile borrowers.
"It's often about responsiveness, flexibility and the service we can offer our borrowers," Chairman and CEO of Sterling Financial Group David Kosoy said. "As a private lender, we can both act quicker and we can customize our loans to the needs of our often high-net-worth (HNW) borrowers.
"We don't compete with the traditional banks on interest rates, however, our customers often value our ability to enable faster closing, and we are frankly often able to be more innovative than is possible for the rigid structures of the traditional banks."
The loan was made for construction purposes from a private borrower, Guardian Business can confirm, to aid in the development of one of the homes in the multi-million South Ocean development.
Sterling is considered an "export business" according to Kosoy, where all of its funding is brought to various businesses from international investors. He added that a majority of the lending is done outside of The Bahamas, but loan underwriting and servicing is conducted in its Nassau office.
"For our Bahamian based loans, there was a period of very slow response for approvals from regulators during the last six months," Kosoy said. "This was a direct result of the election season. We seem to be back on track on that front now."
An increase in loan applications has also occurred for the group, with the slow recovery of the United States real estate market signaling more confidence from investors. Kosoy mentioned that the demand has increased for loans to high-net-worth persons who may require extra liquidity, as traditional banks have pull backed from that area.
The Sterling Financial Group recently launched its third mortgage fund, the New Providence Income Fund, which has already seen a 5.22 percent return in the first quarter. Kosoy said it's already "showing well above market returns" and is receiving an outstanding response in the market. It's a Cayman Island-domiciled regulated fund and it sets a minimum investment of $100,000.
Kosoy said his firm is determined to keep the momentum going despite the challenges, and is looking forward to remaining a consistent player in this field of business.
"As a growing business, attracting and maintaining talented professionals is a continued challenge," he said. "We have a great team located in Nassau. As an international business, we are competing against other private and alternative lenders that are typically located in major onshore financial centers, and we must ensure we have a team that can compete on the world stage."
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
