Massachusetts Stove Company manufactures wood-burning stoves for the heating of homes and businesses. The company has approached you, as chief lending officer for the Massachusetts Regional Bank, seeking to increase its loan from the current level of $93,091 as of January 15, Year 12, to $143,091. Jane O’Neil, chief executive officer and majority stockholder of the company, indicates that the company needs the loan to finance the working capital required for an expected 25 percent annual increase in sales during the next two years, to repay suppliers, and to provide funds for expected nonrecurring legal and retooling costs.

Required
Would you make the loan to the company in accordance with the stated terms? Explain. In responding, consider the reasonableness of the company’s projections, positive and negative factors affecting the industry and the company, and the likely ability of the company to repay the loan.