AboutFinance Guy Expertise 1. All questions relating to finance
2. All practical aspects of mergers and acquisitions
3. Many general business questions
Experience Considerable experience in the area consisting of 25 years in both consumer and commercial finance and business management, including 15 years specializing in international Mergers and Acquisitions with over $100 billion in assets acquired
Education/Credentials Business administration undergrad
Wharton post grad in finance
Awards and Honors numerous corporate awards
Past/Present clients range from small enterprenurial companies to large multinationals
Expert: Finance Guy Date: 5/1/2008 Subject: shelf corporations
Question I presently own a business and have received some loans but they required guarantors. We were told by a consulting company we should by a clean shelf (aged) company and use it's longevity to borrow. However, my experience is that every lending institution we have talked to require at least 2 years of business tax returns. If the shelf company isn't doing anything and sitting around aging, it wouldn't have any tax returns and if they did they wouldn't show any profit. So, what good is the shelf corporation and if there is a way to use it, what is it? Thank you very much for your time. Bruce
Answer You are wiser than the supposed consultants...
I agree completely.
The shelf corporations are only good for the creators, sellers and brokers of the shelf corporations.
Banks are not THAT stupid, sub-prime lending aside.
They will look through the "shell" feature of the shell corporation to determine what, if any, substance is behind it.
Fire your consultants immediately, they do not have your interests, but rather their own, in mind.
There is no short cut to good credit or credit worthiness, unfortunately.
