How to Write a Letter From the Staff of a Company to a Bank Requesting a Loan

by Miranda Morley
Read a printed version of the letter over to look for spelling and grammar errors before sending.


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A well-written bank loan request letter can set your small business apart from all the others seeking funding. However, representing your company in such a high-stakes situation can also be intimidating. To minimize the nerves and maximize the letter's effectiveness, analyze the writing situation before you craft the content and attempt a letter that is clear and concise. Remember that you are writing from the business's perspective, so avoid personal opinions and references at all costs.


A bank request letter from a small business may serve as a cover letter for a loan application, but it should say much more than, "Here is my application." Instead, the letter should contain specifics about the small business that the bank needs to know in order to make a decision. Some of these specifics include when the business was founded, organizational structure, products and services, gross sales, assets, sales projections, short and long term objectives, and the amount of the loan requested. The content of the letter should be aimed at providing quantifiable, numerical proof that your small business is successful, will continue to be successful, and poses little risk to the lender. Do not include anecdotes that you believe show your business' success; banks do not care about these, and they may even hurt your case, as bankers may think that you do not have numerical data to back up your claims.


Organize your letter like a business report with headings, but still use the traditional business letter salutation and closing. Address the letter to the loan officer who will review your request by writing, "Dear Mr. or Mrs. Smith." If you don't know who will review your application, call the bank's human resources department to find out. Most bank loan request letters begin with the history or description of the company followed by sales data and finally the appeal for the loan. Break up the body content with logical headings like "Company History" and "Sales Projections." The goal of your organization is to make information as easy to find as possible. Close the letter with a polite statement, noting that you hope to be in touch with the loan reviewer shortly and that you are available to answer any questions. The final element of the letter should be the closing, usually "sincerely" or "cordially," your signature and your printed name.


Write your bank loan request letter in a professional, succinct and polite tone. Unless you are referring to yourself specifically, do not use "we" or "I," but use the business's name or "it." Do not use inflated language, such as long, academic words or confusing sentence structures, but also avoid slang, contractions, emotion or humor. Remember that the bank will likely judge you based not only on what you write but also on how you write. In this case, writing in a professional tone is like wearing a tailored suit to an interview -- it makes a good impression.


Use the basic business letter format unless the bank requests you to do otherwise. Prepare a page with 1-inch margins on all sides, and write the date in the upper left-hand corner. Skip a line and write the recipient's full name. On the next line, write the recipient's address. Skip a line and write the salutation. Skip another line and begin the letter body. When you are ready to end your letter, skip a line after the last paragraph and write the closing.

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