The PNC Equipment Finance Review for 2020

Updated on March 2, 2021
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PNC Equipment Finance: What You Need to Know

PNC Equipment Finance—an arm of the bank PNC—offers a variety of services surrounding business loans for purchasing equipment specifically. Though PNC Equipment Finance is a great choice for larger businesses pulling in at least $1 million in annual revenue, small businesses might want to consider their secured term loan as a more accessible alternative. Plus, there are multiple alternative lenders that offer equipment financing that’s available for smaller businesses, as well. We go over the details on all of these options in this guide to PNC Equipment Finance.

Let’s dive right into all you need to know in order to decide whether or not PNC Equipment Finance is right for your business needs:

What Is PNC Equipment Finance?

To understand what PNC Equipment Finance is exactly, we need to break it down into smaller pieces. Let’s take a look at what PNC is and what equipment finance is to better understand this small business funding option:

What Is PNC?

PNC is a corporation that has been around in some form or fashion for over 160 years, and it has a lot of financial products to offer as a result. As one of the best banks for business loans, PNC offers a range of small business loans—not the least of which is PNC equipment financing, so let’s take a look at this type of small business funding.

What Is Equipment Finance?

Equipment finance basically encompasses everything involved in the financial process of a business getting equipment. Whether it’s getting a loan to buy equipment, leasing a piece of equipment, or even just seeking financial advice in acquiring equipment, the term “equipment finance” covers it all.

PNC Equipment Finance Details

PNC Equipment Finance offers services to help businesses obtain the equipment they need. PNC offers many products under the equipment financing umbrella, including:

1. Corporate Financing Solutions

From large corporations with over $500 million in annual revenue to smaller businesses with $1 million in annual revenue, PNC offers equipment financing consulting, leasing, and lending through the arm of PNC Equipment Finance.

2. Structured Finance Solutions

They also provide strategic services and creative solutionss to large corporations, midsize companies, project developers, and government entities.

3. Industry Strategic Markets

PNC Equipment Finance also offers industry-specific expertise in the following markets:

  • Aviation finance
  • Energy capital
  • Rail finance
  • Technology finance

4. Vendor Programs

They also have a group dedicated to global manufacturers and distributors.

Within this group, they have dedicated professionals within the following categories:

  • Vendor finance
  • Construction and industrial
  • Technology
  • Transportation
  • Golf finance
  • Sports and entertainment finance
  • Managed services solutions

PNC Secured Term Loans

PNC also offers a small business-friendly alternative to PNC equipment financing. Their secured term loan will finance the equipment you need to buy and take that equipment as collateral to secure the loan.

Let’s take a look at the details on this small business alternative to other PNC equipment financing solutions.

Loan Amounts

Because they’re secured by a piece of collateral—in this case, a piece of equipment—PNC secured loans will be able to offer larger loan amounts than unsecured alternatives.

As such, they can range anywhere from $100,001 to $3 million, depending on your creditworthiness and the value of the equipment you’re hoping to buy.

Term Lengths

The term lengths for PNC’s secured small business loan product can be up to seven years. Additionally, the repayment term lengths on PNC secured loans will vary based on the projected life of the piece of equipment you hope to get.

Payment Schedules

If you decide to finance equipment with a PNC secured loan, then your payments of principal and interest will happen on a monthly basis with an automatic deduction from your PNC business checking account.

PNC Equipment Financing: How to Apply

What You’ll Need to Apply

You can apply for a PNC secured small business loan online, by phone, or in-person at a physical branch.

To apply you’ll need some paperwork about yourself, any other business owners with 25% or more ownership of the business, and the business itself, including:

  • Business name, address, phone number, email
  • Business organization, establishing year, and any relevant acquisition paperwork
  • Your business tax ID number (also called an EIN) or your SSN
  • Annual sales
  • Number of employees
  • Business owner’s name, address, phone number, email address, SSN, birth date, title, percentage of ownership, proof of citizenship, and government ID

Alternatives to PNC Equipment Finance

PNC Equipment Finance is geared toward larger businesses boasting millions in revenue, making it difficult for even the most-qualified businesses to get funding.

As such, it’s smart to seek out some alternatives to PNC Equipment Finance. Luckily, there are many alternative lenders who provide equipment financing to small businesses in high volumes, so you’ll have a whole host of choices when searching for your alternatives.

We’ve picked out the three best lenders to start with.

1. Balboa Capital Equipment Financing

A top PNC Equipment Finance alternative to consider is Balboa Capital. Balboa Capital equipment financing follows a lease and buy-back structure, so you’ll be able to fully own your equipment once you pay down your financing in full. That said, while you’re paying back your equipment finance loan, Balboa will technically own it.

Balboa Capital also offers a corporation-only guarantee option for business owners who want to avoid providing a personal guarantee for their equipment finance.

  • Terms

    Balboa Capital equipment financing comes in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $250,000. Depending on your business’s creditworthiness and the projected life of the equipment you wish to finance, the repayment term for equipment financing from Balboa can range from two to four years long. You can expect rates to range from 3.99% to 25% and an origination fee of up to 2%.

  • Requirements

    To be eligible for this funding, you’ll need to have a personal credit score of at least 600. Your business will need to be up and running for at least a year with annual revenue of at least $100,000

    You can start to consider the possibility of applying to Balboa if you meet these minimum requirements. To apply for equipment financing of $250,000 or less, you’ll simply need to collect the following documents:

    • Certificate of good standing
    • Voided business check
    • Copy of your driver’s license

    Applying for more than $250,000 of Balboa Capital financing will require you to also gather these documents:

    • A two-year balance sheet
    • A two-year profit and loss statement
    • Your two most recent business tax returns

    If you’re able to collect the required paperwork quickly and you end up qualifying for Balboa Capital equipment financing, they can fund your application as quickly as the same day you apply.  

2. Crest Capital Equipment Financing

Another PNC Equipment Finance alternative, Crest Capital, offers pretty much any form of equipment financing you can imagine. From $1 purchase agreements to fair market value agreements to operating leases, and everything in between, Crest Capital offers pretty much any option you need.

  • Terms

    Equipment financing from Crest Capital ranges from $5,000 all the way up to $1 million. Again, depending on your business creditworthiness and the projected life of the equipment, repayment terms will range from two to seven years. The total cost of Crest Capital equipment finance will consist of interest—with rates starting at 5%—and an administrative fee of $275.

  • Requirements

    To be eligible for this loan product, you’ll need to have a personal credit score of at least 650 and your business will need to have at least two years of business history. Crest Capital doesn’t disclose a minimum annual revenue requirement, though the more revenue you have, the higher your likelihood of approval.

    If you check off the two minimum requirements, you can start thinking about gathering the documents necessary to apply for Crest Capital equipment financing. Again, if you’re applying for $250,000 or less, you’ll need to gather significantly less paperwork:

    • Proof of ownership
    • Bank reference
    • Equipment quote
    • Equipment seller’s contact information

    Applications for more than $250,000 will also require the following documents:

    • Two years of financial statements
    • Your two most recent business tax returns
    • Personal financial statements of all owners of 20% or more of the company
    • List of your current loans and leases

    Be sure to keep in mind that up to 25% of a Crest Capital equipment finance loan can go toward soft costs surrounding equipment like tax, delivery, and installation.

3. Currency Capital Equipment Finance

Currency Finance, formerly known as Currency Capital, is another alternative lender that offers more accessible funding to small businesses than PNC does. 

  • Terms

    Currency Capital offers a wider range of terms than most equipment financing companies do. Equipment finance loans from Currency Capital can range from as little as $5,000 to as much as $500,000. Their loan repayment terms can range from six months to up to seven years. Interest rates will start at 6%.

    A number of potential fees could also comprise the cost of Currency Capital equipment finance—look out for document fees, UCC filing fees, inspection fees, and titling fees.

  • Requirements

    Currency Capital will be a potential option for you if you have a personal credit score of at least 620. Your business will also need to take in at least $120,000 in annual revenue. Currency Capital doesn’t name a minimum time in business, but the more business history you have under your belt, the more likely you’ll be able to qualify for this type of funding.

    To apply for equipment finance of less than $150,000, you’ll simply need an equipment quote to finalize your funding. For deals of $150,000 or more, you’ll also need to gather the following documents:

    • Your two most recent business tax returns
    • Three months of business bank statements
    • Profit and loss statements
    • Balance sheet
    • Debt schedule

    Currency Capital can fund equipment finance loans of less than $150,000 within 24 hours if you’re able to move quickly with your application and equipment quote.

4. Equipment Financing From Other Banks

It’s important to note that many business loans can be used for the purpose of equipment financing, while not explicitly being called “equipment financing.”

If it makes sense for your situation, it might be worth pursuing other term loans that could work for your equipment purchases or financing needs.

Other bank options that could be comparable are:

See Your Equipment Financing Options

The Bottom Line

Now that you’ve read through our ultimate guide to PNC Equipment Finance, you have all of the pertinent information for deciding whether this source of capital is the right fit for your business’s equipment financing needs.

If it’s not, you still have several alternatives to consider to ensure you get the right funding for your business.

Meredith Wood
Vice President and Founding Editor at Fundera

Meredith Wood

Meredith Wood is the founding editor of the Fundera Ledger and a vice president at Fundera. She launched the Fundera Ledger in 2014 and has specialized in financial advice for small business owners for almost a decade. Meredith is frequently sought out for her expertise in small business lending. She is a monthly columnist for AllBusiness, and her advice has appeared in the SBA, SCORE, Yahoo, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, American Banker, Small Business Trends, MyCorporation, Small Biz Daily, StartupNation, and more. Email: meredith@fundera.com.
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