What small business is doing wrong when applying for a bank loan 25 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM 6 minutes to read Small business owners need to have their financials in order before applying for a loan. Photo / File Small business owners need to have their financials in order before applying for a loan. Photo / File Start-up business owners should forget trying to get a bank loan unless they have housing equity to fall back on and those who have been in business a few years will need to have clean financials if they want to borrow. That's the advice from Gordon Stuart, a former ANZ head of agri-banking who has set up a new business called Chaperon alongside former ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie to help small businesses secure loans from banks.