Business loans in Singapore, when the bank says no

Before you pay anyone or send documents: check the firm’s UEN against ACRA and the Ministry of Law’s 153 licensed and 31 exempt moneylenders. Check a lender or broker

The bank said no. What now?

Pick the reason you were given and tell us about the business. You get what to do about that reason, from the sources that set the rules, and the other loans whose published rules you still meet, with what each says on that point.

The lender said no because ofThe business is too newSales are too lowNot enough local ownershipThe type of business (sole proprietor, partnership or LLP)The loan is too bigThe credit record, the company’s or an owner’sNo reason given, or something else

Pick the closest. If you weren’t told, pick the last one.

Time in businessUnder 6 months6 to 11 months1 to 2 years2 to 3 years3 to 5 years5 years or more

Since the business was registered with ACRA.

Sales in the last year

$

Turnover, before costs.

Owned by Singaporeans and PRs50% or more30% to 49%Under 30%

Counted through to the people who own any company shareholders.

The business is a

Sole proprietorship Partnership LLP Private limited company

You want to borrow

$

Leave blank to see every loan size.

What to do: no reason given, or something else

1. Ask the lender which rule or check you missed. Lenders publish only some of their rules: 5 of the loans we have read publish none at all.

Whatever the reason

1. Get the credit report the lender saw. If the lender sent a letter, Credit Bureau Singapore gives a free report: “With this approval or rejection letter, you are able to obtain a free credit report from CBS within 30 calendar days from the date of approval or rejection letter.” Otherwise it costs S$8.00 before GST, online with Singpass.
2. Apply to one or two lenders at a time. “Each time a potential bank/financial institution pulls your credit report in response to a new loan application, an enquiry is placed on your file.”
3. Ask CEFA. The Centre for Enterprise Financing Advisory (CEFA), set up by the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore on 18 May 2026, offers “guidance on strengthening your application before approaching lenders”, and has agreements with 8 banks (CIMB, DBS, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, RHB, Standard Chartered and UOB). In its words: “Our advisory is informational, not promotional.” Neither CEFA’s site nor the launch release says whether its advice is charged for. CEFA, cefa@sbf.org.sg.

Other loans whose published rules you meet

17 of the 23 we have read

What each says about “no reason given, or something else”

Bank (licensed by MAS)

• DBS SME Working Capital Loan EFSFrom 6% a year, effective (about 3.2% a year as simple interest on S$100,000 over 5 years, DBS says)
• DBS Business Term LoanFrom 6% a year, subject to DBS’s assessment
• UOB BizMoney10.88% a year: UOB’s Business Board Rate (8% now) plus 2.88%, so it moves with the board rate
• UOB SME Working Capital Loan EFSNot stated
• OCBC SME Working Capital Loan EFSFrom 6.75% a year, effective (EIR); OCBC’s calculator shows 6.75% to 8.75%. The facility fee comes on top
• Maybank SME Working Capital Loan EFS“Attractive loan interest rates”; no figure published
• Maybank Business Term LoanNot stated
• HSBC SME Working Capital Loan EFSNot stated
• CIMB BizAssist (EFS working capital loan) EFS“Competitive rate”, subject to CIMB’s assessment
• RHB SME Working Capital Loan EFSNot stated

Digital bank

• GXS Bank FlexiLoan Biz (credit line)From 4.99% a year (EIR 9.32% on an average S$10,000 over 24 months, GXS says)
• MariBank Mari Business Loan (Term Loan)From 4.5% a year simple interest, the lowest rate MariBank publishes
• ANEXT Bank Pay Monthly term loanFixed rate; the rate itself is not stated

Finance company (licensed by MAS)

• Hong Leong Finance SME Working Capital Loan EFSFixed rate; the rate itself is not stated
• ETHOZ Capital SME Working Capital Loan EFSNot stated
• IFS Capital Working Capital LoanNot stated for the loan; IFS publishes an SGD Enterprise Base Rate of 7.5% a year (since 24 Sep 2024) without saying how loans are priced against it
• Sing Investments & Finance SME Working Capital Loan EFS“Attractive interest rate”; no figure published

Meeting a lender’s published rules doesn’t mean it will lend: it also checks the credit record, the cash flow and the guarantors, and has rules it doesn’t publish.

The lenders’ rules are from each lender’s own page, read 3 Nov 2026 (every rule, word for word); the EFS limits from Enterprise Singapore; the credit report facts from Credit Bureau Singapore and CEFA’s from its own site and launch release, read 3 Nov 2026.

Check a lender or broker before you pay or send documents

Before you give a firm your accounts, your NRIC or a fee, look it up. Type its UEN to see ACRA’s record of it and whether the Ministry of Law lists it as a moneylender.

The firm’s UEN

Its Unique Entity Number: 9 or 10 letters and digits, on its invoices, contracts and letters. Your browser asks ACRA’s open data on data.gov.sg directly; Numbers.sg doesn’t see what you type.

Check this firm

Type a UEN to see ACRA’s record for the firm (its name, status, type, registration date and address) and whether the Ministry of Law lists it as a licensed or exempt moneylender, as at 1 Oct 2026.

ACRA’s Entities Registered with ACRA on data.gov.sg, updated monthly, so a firm registered in the last few weeks may not show yet: Bizfile has it. The Ministry of Law’s lists of licensed and exempt moneylenders, as at 1 Oct 2026, read every morning.

Signs of a loan scam, in the Police’s words

The Police list these signs, and name the ways scammers pass themselves off as real lenders:

• Money asked for before the loan is paid out. “Licensed moneylenders will not ask a loan applicant to make any payment (such as for GST, “admin fee”, “processing fee”, or any other fee) before the disbursement of a loan or to secure the disbursement of a loan.”
• A loan offered by text, call or social media. “Licensed moneylenders are not allowed to solicit loans via text messages, phone calls or social media platforms.”
• A loan done fully online, by a moneylender. “Licensed moneylenders are required to meet the borrower in person at the approved place of business to conduct physical face-to-face verification of the borrower’s identity before granting any loan.”
• A “branch” or “partner” of a real lender. “In some cases, scammers would identify themselves as a “branch” or “business partner” of legitimate licensed moneylenders.”

The Police: “Between January and May 2025, there were at least 375 cases reported, with total losses amounting to at least $2.4 million.” If you aren’t sure, call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799; report unlicensed moneylending to the Police on 1800-255-0000.

Singapore Police Force: Police Advisory on Loan Scams, 16 Jul 2025; the Ministry of Law’s list of licensed moneylenders.

Licensed and exempt moneylenders

Banks and finance companies are licensed by MAS. Other lenders need a moneylender’s licence from the Ministry of Law, or an exemption from it, unless the law leaves them out: a lender that lends only to companies and limited liability partnerships needs neither. Licensed moneylenders do lend to businesses; the Ministry of Law’s rules for them include:

• Interest: at most 4% a month, and late interest at most 4% a month on the amount repaid late.
• Fees: at most 10% of the loan when it is granted, and S$60 for each month of late repayment, plus legal costs a court orders.
• In total: “The total charges imposed by a moneylender on any loan, consisting of interest, late interest, upfront administrative and late fee also cannot exceed an amount equivalent to the principal of the loan.”
• No cooling-off for business loans: “The cooling-off period applies to unsecured loans that are not business loans granted by licensed moneylenders.”

Ministry of Law: Guide to borrowing from licensed moneylenders, read 3 Nov 2026. 153 licensed moneylenders as at 1 Oct 2026.

Exempt moneylenders don’t hold a licence: they have an exemption from needing one under sections 91 and 92 of the Moneylenders Act. Several of the non-bank lenders that lend to businesses are on its list:

The Ministry of Law’s list of exempt moneylenders, as at 1 Oct 2026 (31 firms), read 3 Nov 2026. Names, websites and phone numbers as the list gives them; a dash where it says N.A.

If you use a loan broker

A broker doesn’t lend: it takes your application to lenders, and is paid for it. Before you sign anything, get these in writing:

• What it is licensed for, and its UEN, to check above.
• Its fee, in dollars, and when you pay it. A fee charged as a share of the loan grows with it: 3% of S$100,000 is S$3,000, and 10% is S$10,000, on top of the lender’s interest and fees.
• Which lenders it will send your application to, and how many. Each lender that checks your credit file adds an enquiry to it (see below).
• What happens if no lender says yes. Whether any fee is still due.

The Police say licensed moneylenders never ask for a payment before a loan is paid out. Anyone who asks you to pay so that a loan can be released is a reason to stop and call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799.

More on this topic

Business loans in Singapore

• Business loan requirements and rates in Singapore, lender by lender
• The Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS): every loan, who qualifies, which lenders
• Business loan calculator: the true cost after every fee

Questions people ask

How we check these numbers

• Every rule, limit and quote is read from the page of whoever sets it: each lender, Enterprise Singapore, Credit Bureau Singapore, CEFA, the Police and the Ministry of Law, and linked where it is used. Read on 3 Nov 2026 and checked for changes every day (update schedule).
• The Ministry of Law’s lists of licensed and exempt moneylenders are read from its PDFs every morning; the page shows the date the Ministry gives each list.
• The UEN check runs in your browser: it asks ACRA’s open data on data.gov.sg for that one UEN and matches the name against the Ministry of Law’s lists. Nothing you type is sent to Numbers.sg. A firm’s name can be spelt differently in the two places, so a missing match is worth checking on the Ministry’s own list.
• No lender or broker pays us, the page has no affiliate links, and we don’t arrange loans or pass on your details. Not financial or legal advice: see our disclaimer and corrections.

Changes to this page

1. 3 Nov 2026

   New: business loans when the bank says no. Pick the reason a lender gave and get what to do about it, from the sources that set the rules, and the other loans whose published rules you still meet; your credit report free for 30 days after a lender’s letter (Credit Bureau Singapore); a check on any lender or broker by UEN against ACRA’s records and the Ministry of Law’s 153 licensed and 31 exempt moneylenders; the Police’s signs of a loan scam; and what licensed moneylenders may charge. What to do after a no