Banking Finance

It is important to first understand the definition of asset based financing. This will help us to know, why we should avail it and consider as a means to obtain cash requirements leading to the increased working capital. Assets of the company or business are pledged to the lending company against the loan amounts acquired by the borrowing company.

Asset based financing is a specialized method of providing structured working capital and term loans to help businesses, companies large or small to stabilize or grow with the help of their assets, which are pledged as collaterals to keep secure the lending amounts. Specific assets of the businesses help to secure loans. The assets specified are anything from machinery, equipment, real estate to purchase orders of raw materials and finished goods. This kind of funding is employed in the case of starting a new company, to finance growth and expansion in the business, refinance existing loans, and also in case of mergers and acquisitions, and management buy-ins and buy-outs that take place. Asset based financing is a great source of capital for a growing company or for other purposes as well.

One of the ways to handle an asset-based finance is to finance a purchase order. This is one way of handling the finance of a company that has stretched its credit limits with the vendor company. In such a case the asset based lender finances the purchase of the raw material, which in turn, then assigns the purchase order to the lender. When the purchase order has been duly filled, the payment is made to the lender, who then deducts its cost and fees and remits the balance to the company. The interest charged in such a type of loan is typically steep.

The company whose assets are being pledged does not give up ownership of the assets or the company itself, to obtain the loan. The only disadvantage is in case of failure of repayment of loans, there may arise a situation, where the lender acquires all the attached assets.

How does an asset-based loan generally get utilized? These loans are used mainly for expansion and growth of the company and businesses, for which reason the loan was acquired. So also, they are used in cases of business mergers and acquisitions. Another purpose for which an asset-based loan is sought is for management buy-ins or buy-outs. Turnaround financing is one more reason for which loans are normally used. They are also used for refinancing of existing business loans.

One of the methods to consider asset based financing is to raise capital. With the leverage growth in sales today, this is one good way of assured asset based finance. Assets such as equipment and commercial real estate also fall within the category of assets that are used to avail funds. Asset based financing for capital is also used because of lack of flexibility in bank financing. Inventory against raw materials and finished goods are used as security, in the case of revolving credit lines. Asset based financing also helps access to large amounts of cash that have been invested in the infrastructure.

Looking for the right financing company is easy when looking for a used auto loan.

Usually auto loans are financed “in house” when buying a used car. Used car dealerships are a great way of financing a new used car and they have pretty reliable terms which are easily met. Cars bought through a used auto dealer are a great bargain in most cases, they are cheap and in fairly good condition. Many of these cars are bought at auctions and sold to a used car dealership who in turn sells the vehicle to a private party.

Hector Milla Editor of the “Direct Auto Loan Lenders” website — http://www.DirectAutoLoanLenders.com — pointed out;

“…Finding the right financing company for your new car may be a bit tricky. Used car dealers who sell used cars will on occasion sell the loan to a commercial bank much as a credit card company will sell their clients debt to another party or collection agency. Banks who purchase the loan will then set up payment plans with the individual and the collection process is the same…”

A monthly payment book is issued and the payments are made to the bank each month. This is a bank finance system and the bank holds the car as collateral until the vehicle is paid off. This is a more secure way of financing and helps a consumer get back on the right track to establishing better credit.

“…Bad credit financing may be a bit more expensive but is an alternative to having no credit at all. Bad credit doesn’t have to hold anyone back from purchasing a reliable auto. By checking out an auto dealerships reputation with the Better Business Bureau an individual has a better chance of getting a great deal regardless of their credit…” added H. Milla.

Further information and instant approval auto loans regardless of your credit by visiting: http://www.DirectAutoLoanLenders.com

Waiting up to 60 days to get your invoices paid can really be a major source of stress for business owners. This can be especially painful if you have to pay rent, suppliers and meet payroll. This is even more painful when most of your money is tied up in slow paying invoices. Having money tied up in slow paying invoices can also prevent you from capitalizing on new opportunities. Why? Because few business owners can deliver large orders to new clients and then underwrite the transaction for up to 60 days.

If you cannot afford to wait to get paid by your clients there is a solution that can provide you with the necessary financing. It’s called factoring financing. With factoring you can accelerate the payment for your invoices and get funding to pay rent, pay your suppliers, meet payroll and take on new projects.

As opposed to bank financing, invoice factoring is easy to qualify for. The main requirement is that you have invoices from mid size and large commercial customers. Most factoring companies are comfortable working with new companies – even if they have no hard collateral – provided that they have good invoices and a solid business plan.

Another advantage of factoring is that your financing is not fixed on any specific amount, like a loan or line of credit. You can usually factor as many invoices as you can deliver on. As a tool, factoring allows you to tap into the power of your greatest asset – your roster of credit worthy customers. It allows you to grow and capitalize on new opportunities, while circumventing the restrictions and challenges of obtaining regular bank financing.

There are many alternatives in obtaining wholesale used off lease and repo dump trucks, quad, tri, tandem and single axles, for sale with special dealer financing. Whether you are a start up or a seasoned business, the first logical place to investigate your financing is at your local bank. The seasoned business must have at least mid 600s in their credit scores and be prepared to go through a lengthy paper process.  Prior Year Tax Returns may be required, current personal financial statements needed and various other requests. 

 The start up business must have a credit score properly 680 or higher and will have a much smaller success rate in obtaining bank financing.  The business start up is a high risk factor and must adhere to higher lending standards.

 Most banks offer loan and/or lease programs. The difference is that the loan program transfers title at the end of the payment obligation, whereas the leasing component offers a rent type environment during the course of the lease with a buy out option at the end of the lease period to take title. Usually, the monies required upfront to acquire a loan are higher and eliminates many candidates.  The Leasing arena requires anywhere from usually first and last payment to approximately 20% down depending on the type of industry financing is requested for.  

On the loan and lease programs for a dump truck applicant, the applicant must investigate whether the bank and/or financial institution considers this a qualified asset which they will lend on.  Most lenders like this type of asset but others may specialize in other industries such as medical and transportation such as limos, limo buses, ambulances etc. Some Lenders will only lend up to ten years based upon the age of the truck where others may extend beyond this parameter.  Loans and leases usually run anywhere between 36 -60 months based upon the age of the dump truck.

 The front money to commence the lending vehicle, the monthly payments and the buyout clauses at the end of the lending instrument, if there is one, is paramount in making a prudent business decision.  The amount of paperwork and hoops to jump through to get to end of the financing process are considered in the total evaluation process.

As we discussed above, there can be a lengthy paperwork process to obtain your financing.  Recently, some of the lenders have changed their computer qualification models and require application only programs

This means there are no income tax returns required, time consuming personal financial statements needed, and other key documents either prepared and /or requested.  This program is usually geared for the seasoned business.  These application lending programs run as high as $50,000.

 It is important for the dump truck applicant to check out all the lending programs available.  The collateral is the dump truck and usually no additional collateral is required.  The minimum credit score required for all dump truck applicants may run as low as 600 for conventional financing.

The last thing you should be aware of is dealer/financing inventory programs. What this means, the lender has repos and/ off lease inventories that they want to move for cash flow purposes. This financing arrangement is geared to the start up as well as seasoned business and may offer the dump applicant an excellent buying and financing opportunity.

As of April 10, 2010 the economy is still in a contraction mode and lenders have taken back dump trucks repossessions back by the droves. Lending in the financial markets has become very tight and the qualifications for prospective customers extremely difficult.  The repo dump truck market offers the startup and seasoned business an excellent opportunity. Cash buyers have the best opportunity to acquire a dump truck at the lowest price….  

 When you are shopping for dump truck financing, consider the following, the front money, the monthly payments, what collateral is required, and what the buyout clauses mean.  Also, make sure you have a good source of income coming from a contract and/or other methods.

Happy hunting for your quad, tri, tandem, single axle dump truck and its related financing..

Reserve Bank of India the central bank and monetary authority of India, is the central regulatory and supervisory authority for the Indian financial system. A variety of financial intermediaries in the public and private sectors participate in India’s financial sector, including the following:

Commercial banks comprising a. public sector banks; b. private sector banks; and c. foreign banks
Cooperative banks;
Long-term lending institutions;
Non-bank finance companies, including housing finance
companies;
Other  specialized   financial   institutions,   and   state-level financial institutions;
Insurance companies; and
Mutual funds.

Statutory Pre-Emotions

In the pre-reforms phase, the Indian banking system operated with a high level of statutory preemptions, in the form of both the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), reflecting the high level of the country’s fiscal deficit and its high degree of monetization. Efforts in the recent period have been focused on lowering both the CRR and SLR. The statutory I minimum of 25 per cent for the SLR was reached as early as 1997, and while the Reserve Bank continues to pursue its medium-term objective of reducing the CRR to the statutory minimum level of 3.0 per cent, the CRR of the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) is currently placed at 5.0 per cent of NDTL (net demand and time liabilities). The legislative changes proposed by the Government in the Union Budget, 2005-06 to remove the limits on the SLR and CRR are expected to provide freedom to the Reserve Bank in the conduct of monetary policy and also lend further flexibility to the banking system in the deployment of resources.

Interest Rate Structure

Deregulation of interest rates has been one of the key features of financial sector reforms. In recent years, it has improved the competitiveness of the financial environment and strengthened the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Sequencing of interest rate deregulation has also enabled better price discovery and imparted greater efficiency to the resource allocation process.

The process has been gradual and predicated upon the institution of prudential regulation of the banking system, market behavior, financial opening and, above all, the underlying macroeconomic conditions.

Interest rates have now been largely deregulated except in the case of:

Savings deposit accounts;
Non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits;
Small loans up to Rs.2 lakh; and export credit.

After the interest rate deregulation, banks became free determine their own lending interest rates. As advised by the Indian Banks’ Association (a self-regulatory organization for banks), commercial banks determine their respective BPLR (benchmark prime lending rates) taking into consideration:

Actual cost of funds;
Operating expenses; and
A minimum margin to cover regulatory requirements of provisioning and capital charge and profit margin.

These factors differ from bank to bank and feed into the determination of BPLR and spreads of banks. The BPLRs of public sector banks declined to 10.25-11.25 per cent in March 2005 from 10.25-11.50 per cent in March 2004. With a view to granting operational autonomy to public sector banks, public ownership in these banks was reduced by allowing them to raise capital from the equity market of up to 49 per cent of paid-up capital. Competition is being fostered by permitting new private sector banks, and more liberal entry of branches of foreign banks, joint-venture banks and insurance companies. Recently, a roadmap for the presence of foreign banks in India was released which sets out the process of the gradual opening-upof the banking sector in a transparent manner. Foreign investments in the financial sector in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as portfolio investment have been permitted. Furthermore, banks have been allowed to diversify product portfolio and business activities. The share of public sector banks in the banking business is going down, particularly in metropolitan areas. Some diversification of ownership in select public sector banks has helped further the move towards autonomy and thus provided some response to competitive pressures; Transparency and disclosure standards have been enhanced to meet international standards in an ongoing manner.

Prudential Regulation

Prudential norms related to risk-weighted capital adequacy requirements, accounting, income recognition, provisioning and exposure were introduced in 1992 and gradually these norms have been brought up to international standards. Other initiatives in the area of strengthening prudential norms include measures to strengthen risk management through recognition of different components of risk, assignment of risk-weights to various asset classes, norms on connected lending and risk concentration, application of the mark-to-market principle for investment portfolios and limits on deployment of funds in sensitive activities.

Keeping in view the Reserve Bank’s goal to achieve consistency and harmony with international standards and our approach to adopt these standards at a pace appropriate to our context, it has been decided to migrate to Basel II. Banks are required to maintain a minimum CRAR (capital to risk weighted assets ratio) of 9 per cent on an ongoing basis. The capital requirements are uniformly applied to all banks, including foreign banks operating in India, by way of prudential guidelines on capital adequacy. Commercial banks in India will start implementing Basel II with effect from March 31, 2007. They will initially adopt the Standardized Approach for credit risk and the Basic Indicator Approach for operational-risk. After adequate’ skills have been developed, at both bank and supervisory level, some banks may be allowed to migrate to the Internal Ratings-Based (IRB) Approach. Banks have also been advised to formulate and operationalize the Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (CAAP) as required under Pillar II of the New Framework, Some of the other regulatory initiatives relevant to Basel II that have been implemented by the Reserve Bank are:

Ensuring that banks have a suitable risk management framework oriented towards their requirements and dictated by the size and complexity of their business, risk philosophy, market perceptions and expected level of capital.
Introducing Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) in select banks on a pilot basis.
Encouraging banks to formalize their CAAP in alignment with their business plan and performance budgeting system. This, together with the adoption of RBS should aid in fulfilling the Pillar II requirements under Basel II.
Expanding the area of disclosures Pillar III) so as to achieve greater transparency regarding the financial position and risk profile of banks.
Building capacity to ensure the regulator’s ability to identify    eligible    banks    and    permit    them    to adopt IRB/Advanced Measurement approaches.

With a view to ensuring migration to Basel II in a non-disruptive manner, a consultative and participative approach has been adopted for both designing and implementing the New Framework. A Steering Committee comprising senior officials from 14 banks (public, private and foreign) with representation from the Indian Banks’ Association and the Reserve Bank has been constituted. On the basis of recommendations of the Steering Committee, draft guidelines on implementation of the New Capital Adequacy Framework have been issued to banks. In order to assess the impact of Basel II adoption in various jurisdictions and recalibrate the proposals, the BCBS is currently undertaking the Fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS 5). India will be participating in the study, and has selected 11 banks which form a representative sample for this purpose. These banks account for 51.20 per cent of market share in terms of assets. They have been advised to familiarize themselves with the QIS 5 requirements to enable them to participate in the exercise effectively. The Reserve Bank is currently focusing on the issue of recognition of the external rating agencies for use in the Standardized Approach for credit risk.

As a well-established risk management system is a pre­requisite for implementation of advanced approaches under the New Capital Adequacy Framework, banks were required to examine the various options available under the Framework and draw up a roadmap for migration to Basel II. The feedback received from banks suggests that a few may be keen on implementing the advanced approaches. However, not all are fully equipped to do so straightaway and are, therefore, looking to migrate to the advanced approaches at a later date. Basel II provides that banks should be allowed to adopt/migrate to advanced approaches only with the specific approval of the supervisor, after ensuring that they satisfy the minimum requirements specified in the Framework, not only at the time of adoption/migration, but on a continuing basis. Hence, banks desirous of adopting the advanced approaches must perform a stringent assessment of their compliance with the minimum requirements before they shift gears to migrate to these approaches. In this context, current non-availability of acceptable and qualitative historical data relevant to internal credit risk ratings and operational risk losses, along with the related costs involved in building up and maintaining the requisite database, is expected to influence the pace of migration to the advanced approaches available under Basel II.

Exposure Norms

The Reserve Bank has prescribed regulatory limits on banks’ exposure to individual and group borrowers to avoid concentration of credit, and has advised banks “to fix limits on their exposure to specific industries or sectors (real estate) to ensure better risk j management. In addition, banks are also required to observe certain statutory and regulatory limits in respect of their exposures to capital markets.

Asset – Liability Management

In view of the growing need for banks to be able to identify, measure, monitor and control risks, appropriate risk management guidelines have been issued from time to time by the Reserve Bank, including guidelines on Asset-Liability Management (ALM). These guidelines are intended to serve as a benchmark for banks to establish an integrated risk management system.

However, banks can also develop their own systems compatible with type and size of operations as well as risk perception and put in place a proper system for covering the existing deficiencies and the requisite upgrading.

Detailed guidelines on the management of credit risk, market risk, operational risk, etc. have also been issued to banks by the Reserve Bank. The progress made by the banks is monitored on a quarterly basis. With regard to risk management techniques, banks are at different stages of drawing up a comprehensive credit rating system, undertaking a credit risk assessment on a half yearly basis, pricing loans on the basis of risk rating, adopting the Risk-Adjusted Return on Capital (RAROC) framework of pricing, etc. Some banks stipulate a quantitative ceiling on aggregate exposures in specified risk categories; analyze rating-wise distribution of borrowers in various industries, etc.

In respect of market risk, almost all banks have an Asset- Liability Management Committee. They have articulated market risk management policies and procedures, and have undertaken studies of behavioral maturity patterns of various components of on-/off-balance sheet items.

NPL Management

Banks have been provided with a menu of options for disposal recovery of NPLs (non-performing loans). Banks resolve / recover their NPLs through compromise/one time settlement, filing of suits, Debt Recovery Tribunals, the Lok Adalat (people’s court) forum, Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR), sale to securitization / reconstruction companies and other banks or to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). The promulgation of the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 and its subsequent amendment have strengthened the position of creditors. Another significant measure has been the setting-up of the Credit Information Bureau for information sharing on defaulters and other borrowers. The role of Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. (CIBIL) in improving the quality of credit analysis by financial institutions and banks need hardly be overemphasized. With the enactment of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005, the legal framework has been put in place to facilitate the full-fledged operationalization of CIBIL and the introduction of other credit bureaus.

Board for Financial Supervision (BFS)

An independent Board for Financial Supervision (BFS) under the aegis of the Reserve Bank has been established as the apex supervisory authority for commercial banks, financial institutions, urban banks and NBFCs. Consistent with international practice, the Board’s focus is on offsite and on-site inspections and on banks’ internal control systems. Offsite surveillance has been strengthened through control returns. The role of statutory auditors has been emphasized with increased internal control through strengthening of the internal audit function. Significant progress has been made in implementation of the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. The supervisory rating system under CAMELS has been established, coupled with a move towards risk-based supervision.

Consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates has since been introduced with bi-annual discussions with the financial conglomerates. There have also been initiatives aimed at strengthening corporate governance through enhanced due diligence on important shareholders, and fit and proper tests for directors.

A scheme of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) is in place for attending to banks showing steady deterioration in financial health. Three financial indicators, viz. capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR, net non-performing assets (net NPA) and Return on Assets (ROA) have been identified with specific threshold limits. When the indicators .fall below the threshold level (CRAR, ROA) or go above it (net NPAs), the PCA scheme envisages certain structured / discretionary actions to be taken by the regulator.

The structured actions in the case of CRAR falling below the trigger point may include, among other things, submission and implementation of a capital restoration plan, restriction on expansion of risk weighted assets, restriction on entering into new lines of business, reducing/skipping dividend payments, and requirement for recapitalization.

The structured actions in the case of ROA falling below the trigger level may include, among other things, restriction on accessing/renewing costly deposits and CDs, a requirement to take steps to increase fee-based income and to contain administrative expenses, not to enter new lines of business, imposition of restrictions on borrowings from the inter bank market, etc.

In the case of increasing net NPAs, structured actions will include, among other things, undertaking a special drive to reduce thestock of NPAs and containing the generation of fresh NPAs, reviewing the loan policy of the bank, taking steps to upgrade credit appraisal skills and systems and to strengthen follow-up of advances, including a loan review mechanism for large loans, following up suit filed/ decreed debts effectively, putting in place proper credit risk management policies / processes / procedures / prudential limits,- reducing loan concentration, etc.

Discretionary action may include restrictions on capital expenditure, expansion in staff, and increase of stake in subsidiaries. The Reserve Bank/Government may take steps to change promoters/ ownership and may even take steps to merge/amalgamate/liquidate the bank or impose a moratorium on it if its position does not improve within an agreed period.

Technological Infrastructure

In recent years, the Reserve Bank has endeavored to improve the efficiency of the financial system by ensuring the presence of a safe, secure and effective payment and settlement system. In the process, apart from performing regulatory and oversight functions the Reserve Rank has also played an important role in promoting the system’s functionality and modernization on an ongoing basis. The consolidation of the existing payment systems revolves around strengthening computerized cheque clearing, and expanding the reach of Electronic Clearing Services (ECS) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). The critical elements of the developmental strategy are the opening of new clearing houses, interconnection of clearing houses through the Indian Financial Network (INFINET) and the development of a Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System, a Centralized Funds Management System (CFMS), a Negotiated Dealing System (NDS) and the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS). Similarly, integration of the various payment products with the systems of individual banks has been another thrust area.

An Assessment

These reform measures have had a major impact on the overall efficiency and stability of the banking system in India. The dependence of the Indian banking system on volatile liabilities to finance its assets is quite limited, with the funding volatility ratio at -0.17 per cent as compared with a global range of-0.17 to 0.11 per cent. The overall capital adequacy ratio of banks at end-March 2005 was 12.8 per cent as against the regulatory requirement of 9 per cent which itself is higher than the Basel norm of 8 per cent. The capital adequacy ratio was broadly comparable with the global range. There has been a marked improvement in asset quality with the percentage of gross NPAs to gross advances for the banking system declining from14.4 per cent in 1998 to 5.2 per cent in 2005. Globally, the NPL ratiovaries widely from a low of 0.3 per cent to 3.0 per cent in developed economies, to over 10.0 per cent in several Latin American economies. The reform measures have also resulted in an improvement in the profitability of banks. ROA rose from 0.4 per cent in the year 1991-92 to 0.9 per cent in 2004-05. Considering that, globally, ROA was in the range -1.2 to 6.2 per cent for 2004, Indian banks are well placed. The banking sector reforms have also emphasized the need to review manpower resources and rationalize requirements by drawing up a realistic plan so as to reduce operating cost and improve profitability. The cost to income ratio of 0.5 per cent for Indian banks compares favorably with the global range of 0.46 per cent 10- 0.68 per cent and vis-a-vis 0.48 per cent to 1.16 per cent for the world’s largest banks.

The Reserve Bank of India is reviewing banks’ exposure to the commercial real estate sector.

This comes on the back of a continuous rise in prices in the sector, even as the regulator has followed prudential norms for taming the flow of bank credit by raising the risk weights for capital allocation.

The RBI is contemplating a sectoral cap for limiting the flow of bank credit to the sector, in line with the limits imposed for capital markets. Another option being considered is to further raise the risk weights on such loans.

According to banking sources, further prudential tightening for the commercial real estate sector would not have been required had the regulator gone ahead with the implementation of the revised capital adequacy norms, popularly known as Basel II norms.

This is because under these norms, risk weights are proportionate to the sensitivity of the sector. The higher the risk weight, the higher is the capital allocation.

Sources close to the development said the commercial real estate sector was under strict observation, though any concrete step by the RBI to check the flow of credit might take some time.

On the other hand, banks have become cautious in lending to the sector and are cutting down their exposure made in the form of venture capital.

They are not only reviewing proposals for commercial real estate funding, but have also become wary of investing in bonds floated by real estate companies.

A study by the RBI has revealed that banks which have lent heavily to the commercial real estate sector are not necessarily exposed highly to retail home loans.

In fact, the study did not find any correlation between the two categories of lending, said a banking source.

Bankers felt raising the risk weight might send a signal that the RBI was much concerned about banks’ exposure to the commercial real estate sector, which was anyway not overly dependent on bank finance.

There were overseas private equity funds, especially in West Asia and South East Asia, which were bullish on Indian real estate, they said.

One large clinic that performs LASIK procedures has a very creative advertising approach. On their Web site, they advise people never to look for bargains when they are shopping for parachutes, scuba gear or laser eye surgery. They also wisely counsel interested parties to compare apples to apples when pricing LASIK surgery.

The cost of vision correction, however it is approached, depends on a number of factors. The specific procedure that’s best for you, the location and overhead of the clinic or outpatient surgery center, the physician’s experience, the length of the recovery period and the cost of post-operative pain relief—these are all variables in the complicated price formula. For example, more experienced surgeons may charge higher fees, while some might simply have bigger rent payments in their part of town. As with any other purchase, do your homework and get the facts.

The total cost, of course, will also depend on the particular “vision correction package” that you are purchasing. Many doctors include both pre- and post-operative care in the deal, and offer warranties lasting from 90days to the patient’s lifetime. The great diversity of approaches means, as the clever advertiser said, that you need to compare apples to apples. A “low” price that does not cover follow-up visits, pain medication or other necessities will not, in the long run, be a better bargain than a “higher” price that does include all of these things. Be as careful and exacting in this part of your research as you were when looking into the medical aspects of the LASIK surgery.

On average, the cost for LASIK eye surgery in the U.S. is between $1,500 and$2,000 per eye. By shopping around, you will find any number of doctors and clinics that charge less, as well as those that charge more. And although it’s understandable that you want find the best price, remember that you also have to think about reputation, quality, aftercare and service. Of course, once you decide on the clinic and the LASIK surgeon, you will face another set of decisions that you must make before undergoing the treatment.

If you do not wish to pay for the procedure in cash, there are various financing methods you can employ. If you do decide to finance your LASIK eye surgery, you will then have another investigation to pursue—finding the best deal for financing. Most doctors and clinics will offer some kind of financing plan, whether or not they are the lender, and you will have to decide if their interest rate and monthly payment are the best deal for you.

Naturally, you can finance the LASIK surgery cost yourself by using a credit card, a portion of your homeowner’s line of credit or taking out a loan through a bank, finance company or paycheck advance lender. A simple comparison of interest rates and “total loan cost” will yield a winner in short order.