Special Questions

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected October 14-22 and 72 Texas manufacturers responded to the survey.

NOTES: 72 responses.

NOTE: 72 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected October 14-22 and 237 Texas business executives responded to the survey.

NOTES: 233 responses.

NOTE: 232 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Texas Business Outlook Surveys

Data were collected October 14-22 and 43 Texas retailers responded to the survey.

NOTES: 42 responses.

NOTE: 42 responses.

Survey respondents were given the opportunity to also provide comments, which can be found in the Comments tab above.

Special Questions Comments

Survey participants are given the opportunity to submit comments. Some comments have been edited for grammar and clarity.

• A little dip in interest rates helps some, but not an enormous amount. It doesn’t dictate go/no-go decisions for us, but it does help keep a little money in our pockets going forward, which is a refreshing change!

• Angel investors are also dealing with uncertainty and hanging on to what capital they have ─ which flows downstream to the innovators who can’t get funded.

• We are not thrilled with Comerica selling to Fifth Third.
• Our business has low long-term debt levels and zero short-term borrowings, making this [credit access] not a significant issue. Balance sheet and profitability make reasonable amounts of long-term debt not a big problem.

• Financing in itself is not an issue. Many banks and financial institutions are willing to lend; the issue is the interest rate is unattractive enough to make this company not make capital purchases at this time.

• Interest rate reductions are necessary to reinvigorate the swimming pool industry.
• We have an existing line of credit that we are having to use currently. This has been in place for several years; however, we have not had to use it like we have had to in 2025. We have not tried to secure additional financing.

• Banks are virtually useless unless you are a Fortune 500 company.
• We have low debt and low leverage.

• The concern for the future of banking is growing for community and regional banks with the development of fintech entities competing for deposits and the introduction of the GENIUS Act (stablecoins).

• Traditional bank financing options are not available, and I receive non-traditional lending solicitations daily with fees and interest rates equivalent to 50-90 percent annual percentage rate (APR). Earlier this year I had to do two of these financing offers because I could not get traditional bank loans, and they nearly put me out of business because the weekly payback strained cash flow and operations.

• We depend on the Small Business Administration (SBA) and have a Canadian stockholder. New SBA rules require 100 percent American ownership (it was 51 percent before).
• Since the company is in the service business, and most of our services are charged in advance, our cash flow is much better, and working capital needs are smaller or shorter. At this point, we have no plans for long-term capital needs; therefore, we have no approach to banks in this regard.
• We really try to run our business with our own cash. We don’t borrow money very often.
• The SBA is furloughed.

• The various uncertainty continues, so in some ways that makes capital modestly more complicated to get as needed.
• Despite rate relief, the credit market remains tight for companies that are exposed to tariff and related geopolitical risks.

• Within the middle-to-lower echelons of the multifamily industry we increasingly appear to be an exception. We didn’t get caught up in the irrational exuberance that caused many to overpay, over-promise, over-leverage and become dependent on transaction fees. Many in this cohort are now considered poor credit risks and unqualified for new debt. We just closed a $10 million deal with Fannie Mae delegated financing that sailed through once we excused a partner who was still pretending to be successful. Our creditors wish we would borrow more. We welcome the crackdown by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General in our region against shady borrowers in the multifamily space. Weeding them out will help. Lower interest rates would be great for us, but we’d be pleased with just stability and predictability.
• Capital is not available.

• We are a debt free company, although the pressure from our manufacturers to stock more and more inventory so as to keep their plants producing at economical levels is making that more and more difficult. We have unused lines of credit from both of our banks.

• There is no lack of liquidity in the markets, though rates remain unreasonable and continue to affect capital expenditures.
• We are a broker dealer and raise capital for mostly privately held businesses. For B or above assets, there is plenty of financing available. Business owners have been slow to go to the market because of uncertainty.

• Pending appropriations to go through and the government shutdown have caused more instability, even though we are not a federal agency.

• Because of some of the uncertainty, it is a little more difficult to obtain financing for projects.

• I need new batteries for my crystal ball.

• While there is sufficient interest in funding the company’s long-term growth objectives, regulatory burdens continue to increase, raising project costs and complicating documentation of credit facilities.

• Working capital (line of credit) is essential for our business to function. Because of our high concentration of offshore and foreign receivables, most banks do not want to participate at a meaningful level (low loan-to-value ratio of less than 50 percent) while requiring high alternative levels of collateral (cash in bank, cash value of life insurance, etc.). With the higher cost of credit, these terms are very punitive.

• Banks are not generally lowering financing rates on commercial loans to take into account the softening economy.