Danielle Beyrodt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hill Management Services and Chairman of the Hunt Valley Business Forum; Beth Davis, Point Breeze Credit Union’s Vice President of Lending.; Tonia Niedzialkowski, President and CEO of Point Breeze Credit Union and Vice Chair of the Hunt Valley Business Forum; and Denise Buchman, Executive Director, Hunt Valley Business Forum.
At a recent seminar and networking event sponsored by the Hunt Valley Business Forum, top officials representing the Point Breeze Credit Union emphasized the importance for business owners to establish and maintain relationships and open lines of communication with a financial partner during all economic cycles. The audience included commercial real estate developers, business owners and executives engaged in the professional services, manufacturing, legal, insurance and title industries among others. The event, held at the credit union’s headquarters at 11104 McCormick Road in Hunt Valley, was the most recent in the forum’s ongoing educational and networking programming.
Tonia Niedzialkowski, President and CEO of Point Breeze Credit Union explained that real estate lending remains extremely brisk, to mirror the strong activity occurring throughout Baltimore County in the commercial office, retail, industrial and residential categories. She warns that the economy may be “cooling” in response to a steadily rising interest rate environment and the fact that housing prices have reached “an all-time high.” Niedzialkowski, who also functions as Vice Chair of the Hunt Valley Business Forum, said, “the federal government is trying really hard to control inflation and execute a soft landing for our economy, and we hope their actions will be successful. We expect interest rates to rise another 75 basis points in November and possibly go up again later.”
Tonia Niedzialkowski, Point Breeze Credit Union
During prosperous economic times, and especially when business starts to slow down, it is critical to lean on your financial partner for guidance and advice, she said.
These comments were echoed by Beth Davis, Point Breeze Credit Union’s Vice President of Lending. “Not every company is large enough to be able to afford an accountant or a legal team, so maintaining an excellent relationship with your banker is of utmost importance,” she said. “Financial partners have experience in different industries and can provide sound advice and guidance when dealing with various issues. They bring a third-party and outside perspective that can be highly valuable. The importance of banks was demonstrated during the pandemic, when the industry provided valuable Paycheck Protection Program assistance that enabled many companies to pay their employees for several months.”
Davis explained that many of the credit union’s customers needed immediate capital to survive the pandemic. Others, such as those involved in the cleaning business, were thriving and required loans to purchase more equipment and expand. Two years later, the commercial real estate industry remains extremely active, as are the logistics and trucking sectors which trying to keep pace with the demand of customers ordering products on-line.
Beth Davis, Hunt Valley Business Forum
“The fact is, businesses have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow, so it is important to establish a team of partners that companies can immediately turn to for advice. If your business has an attorney and an accountant, make sure they are the right size and have the capacity to grow along with you. We remain optimistic about the coming months, as well as next year, because we feel Baltimore County is extremely diverse with excellent fundamentals and demographics. This area has always demonstrated its resiliency,” she concluded.
The Hunt Valley Business Forum is the chamber of commerce for businesses in the greater Hunt Valley area. For more information and a list of upcoming events please visit www.hvbf.org
