A finance broker is a type of commercial broker that assists clients in evaluating their current financing needs and identifying the best way to meet those needs. This often involves investigating a wide range of lending opportunities and then assisting the customer in applying for and ultimately securing the best financing option available. A finance broker may specialize in a particular lending area such as mortgage loans or provide access to a wide range of different types of business finance options.
There are a number of specific finance options that call for a specialized finance broker. A floor broker serves as the representative of a client to transaction purchases and sales on a stock market directly on the market floor. An upstairs broker tends to focus more on retail markets and similar transactions. A mortgage broker will seek to identify and secure the best mortgage deals for clients. While many brokers do choose to specialize in one or two areas, it is possible to find a finance broker that offers a one stop shopping solution for a variety of business financing needs.
One of the advantages of using the services of a financial broker is that this type of commissioned broker will have access to loan options and other financial solutions that may or may not be easily identified by a borrower. Because the broker has a vested interest in assisting the client in securing financing, he or she often will investigate traditional and non-traditional loan options to find the best solution for the client. This ability to tap into such a wide network of resources often leads to the securing of a loan even when the client has been turned down by numerous bankers and other lenders.
Along with work in acting as an intermediary to secure loans, a finance broker can also assist customers with leasing and purchase projects. As with loans, the broker is likely to be able to tap into broad networks that will yield purchase and lease opportunities that the client could possibly overlook or never identify in the first place. Functioning as an advocate or finance agent for the customer, the broker will pursue options that work well with the operating budget of the client and often save customers a great deal of money, even after the broker's commission is taken into consideration.
The finance broker does all the legwork for the client. This can mean considerable savings on time and effort in order to find and secure the right business arrangement. Since even large corporations normally have limited amounts of both resources, engaging the services of a finance broker only makes sense.