Alan Kline

Comerica is generating enough loan growth in its key markets that it is under no pressure to expand through acquisitions, Chairman and Chief Executive Ralph Babb says.

Community banks have upped their lending to first-time home buyers and more and more are making mortgage loans on their own without the help of wholesalers, according to the American Bankers Association.

Most homebuyers are happy with their lenders but many others feel that they have been left in the dark during the homebuying process, according to a new survey.

State banking regulators are asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be flexible in its definition of a "rural" market when determining when a community bank is eligible to make a balloon loan.

Women business owners have more trouble obtaining loans than do their male counterparts because they tend to operate businesses with lower profit margins, according to a report released Wednesday.

Interest in SBA lending has picked up as the agency works to attract more lenders and borrowers by streamlining its programs.

U.S. companies are growing more cautious about tapping available credit lines even as large lenders up their credit limits.

There's still a wide disparity between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are willing to accept, and the U.S. Bancorp CEO does not see that gap closing any time soon.

Lenders are lowering rates and stretching out loan terms to win business, and that combination could spell trouble when interest rates rise.

Organic loan growth and expense control are the top priorities at F.N.B. and People's United, but their CEOs also eager to accelerate expansion in markets where they are relative newcomers.

Though the agency has reported record loan volume in recent years, many lenders and borrowers remain reluctant to use its programs because they view its application process as too cumbersome and its eligibility requirements as too strict.

Banks and thrifts are boosting their investments in bank-owned life insurance in an effort to keep pace with rising employee benefits costs and generate additional income.

Interest-only home loans are viewed as somewhat risky by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but that is unlikely to stop the San Francisco bank from making them, its CEO says.

Karen Mills is stepping down as the head of the Small Business Administration. On her watch the agency supported $106 billion of loans to small businesses, including a record $30.5 billion in fiscal year 2011.

A family trust set up by CVB Financial (CVBF) co-founder George Borba is considering selling up to 2 million shares for tax and estate planning purposes.

Payments processor Elavon is expanding its distribution network in Canada with a deal to acquire Toronto-based Collective Point of Sale Solutions.

Improved asset quality and a surge in mortgage lending powered HomeStreet Bank (HMST) in Seattle to record earnings in 2012.

The global awareness campaign will focus on educating companies — especially those in developing countries — and working with regulators to establish more consistent capital guidelines.

The Minnesota bank is generating strong profits on its specialty lending, but is the run-up in its stock price a validation of that strategy or investors hoping that it will be acquired?

Aided by its first whole-bank acquisition in seven years, City Holding Company (CHCO) in Charleston, W.Va., reported a $10.9 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 13% from the same quarter a year earlier.