Summary
In a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of 801 CFOs and other financial officers at US companies, executives gave the economy a score of 47 out of 100. That was up only slightly from the previous year's score of 44. In the CFO Outlook survey, two-thirds of executives said their companies will seek financing in 2011 -- comparable to the 69% who responded similarly the previous year and well ahead of the 59% response in the 2009 CFO Outlook. A more significant change came in expectations for the cost of financing. Only 27% of CFOs expect the cost of capital to increase in 2011, compared to last year when nearly half of CFOs expected a higher cost of capital. While 2011 is expected to bring more -- if only slight -- improvement in some economic indicators, uncertainty may still be the rule. In that environment, asset-based lending should continue to see plenty of activity.
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What Can We Expect?
The end of 2010 didn't resolve many issues that continue to challenge businesses large and small across the country. The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has had lingering effects on job growth, consumer spending, home ownership, the stock market and overall economic activity. All of this has combined to have a significant impact on businesses - from mom-and-pop operations to multinationals - as they consider their credit needs.
As the global e...See the full content of this document
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