Mirador CEO Trevor Dryer Recommends Policy Changes to Increase Small Business Lending at House Small Business Subcommittee Hearing

PORTLAND, Ore. — Trevor Dryer, the CEO of Mirador, a financial technology startup that provides a completely digital small business lending platform, testified on Wednesday during a hearing before The Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access. At the hearing, titled “Financing through Fintech: Online Lending's Role in Improving Small Business Capital Access,” Dryer explained how Mirador's technology enables regulated financial services companies to create scalability in the most cumbersome and labor-intensive parts of the lending experience so they can increase their small business lending.

“When a borrower goes to one of our customers' branches or their website to apply for a business loan, they are routed onto the Mirador platform - however, they likely won't even know they have left the bank's site. And we want it that way. Borrowers follow simple steps to fill out the application and Mirador technology completes a credit memo by pulling additional data from public records, credit bureaus, accounting software, bank accounts and the IRS which is returned to a bank's loan officer with a simple indication of credit-worthiness based on the lender's credit criteria,” said Dryer in his testimony.

The hearing provided the subcommittee with an opportunity to examine recent trends around how small businesses obtain capital, and explained the different business models in the industry and how online lending fits into the overall lending landscape.

“Innovation in the area of small business lending is improving access to capital, however a number of issues still negatively impact this market and place the borrower at a disadvantage,” added Dryer. He then offered the following recommendations to further remove pain points for small business borrowers and lenders:

1. Encourage the IRS to automate the 4506T process for a third party to obtain a tax transcript.

2. Provide Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration for referrals to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI).

3. Allow credit reports to transfer with referred loan applications and prohibit credit bureaus from requiring a new inquiry for each new lender.

4. Incentivize SBA to improve their technology making the agency's lending process more efficient and borrower friendly.

As an entrepreneur himself and the CEO of a business dedicated to improving the small business lending experience, Dryer knows first hand how hard it can be to gain access to affordable capital and is committed to supporting small businesses grow in the U.S.

About Mirador Financial Inc.
The best small business lending experience starts with Mirador. Our platform powers customer acquisition, digital loan application and digitization, intelligent product routing and pre-screening, data management, and borrower communication. Built exclusively for banks, credit unions and other traditional lenders, Mirador supports all small business loan products including lines of credit, term loans, SBA backed loans, commercial real estate, and collateralized loans for up to $20 million.