The Obama administration has pledged $30 billion to help community banks boost small-business lending. That has led to a big debate centering on one issue: should strugglers be eligible?

While U.S. policymakers are looking at ways to make credit more available to small businesses, a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business portrays the credit crunch as less of a current challenge for its constituents, and more of a potential one — if fundamental business conditions improve and borrowing needs increase.

The administration's decision to embrace Paul Volcker's ideas about limiting the growth and risk-taking of big banks could indicate a willingness to entertain ideas that it sees as more than just a quick fix.

The benefits in terms of driving new customer relationships and deposit growth may outweigh the cost.

EagleBank Chairman and CEO Ronald Paul is taking Arianna Huffington’s “Move Your Money” campaign to the next level: he wants local governments to shift their deposits to community banks, too.

Tishman Speyer Properties just handed more ammunition to those who argue that homeowners have no particular moral or civic obligation to stay current on their mortgage payments.

It is uncertain whether the Volcker Rule would lead to reduced risk-taking – or more. The proposed restrictions also do not appear to eliminate the problem of “too big to fail,” which might be more accurately described as “too important to fail.”

Over the past year the Obama administration largely brushed off Paul Volcker’s views about restricting the size and activities of the biggest banks. But Volcker’s persistence is paying off now.

There’s a critical discussion of peer-to-peer lending in the blogosphere this week that’s definitely worth a read. In a scathing article for The Big Money, Mark Gimein called Prosper Marketplace Inc.’s advertised returns misleading. Taking defaults into account, he wrote, the majority of investors who have loaned $188 million through Prosper’s online exchange have actually lost money. …

In case you missed it in the Morning Scan, an Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal by Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO of ING Direct USA, offers one of the clearest explanations we've seen for the less-than-stellar results of the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP. (Aside from the fact that HAMP doesn't reduce a borrower's principal, that is.) …

The banking industry could defy the old adage about sticks and stones. All the name-calling in Washington these days has the potential to do real damage to banks and the economy.

Editorials on President Obama’s proposed bank tax have been remarkably harmonious, with the majority of media outlets saying that while it may be politically motivated, the plan isn’t necessarily bad economic policy. Even the conservative opinion page of The Wall Street Journal, though critical of the tax, complained mainly about Obama's choice of target.

"The Daily Show" last week took a look at the biggest banks' sensitive side. Jon Stewart, the host of the Comedy Central program, was dumbfounded by the government's tepid response to the return of precrisis bonus payments and its insistence that paying anything less than 100% of counterparty claims at the biggest firms — when some said they would accept less — could trigger a sudden failure.

American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Discover waived the processing fees for donations made to certain charities contributing to relief efforts in Haiti, at least temporarily.

Financial firms are among the biggest corporate donors to the earthquake relief efforsts