John Reosti

Critics complain a bill sponsored by the leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee would reinstate a moratorium on participation in the SBA's flagship 7(a) program by nondepository lenders. Supporters of the bill argue that widening the program could invite more fraud.

The Pittsburgh-based regional is leaning heavily on ATMs as part of a de novo expansion strategy in the lucrative Washington metropolitan region.

Big Poppy Bancorp has applied to the Federal Reserve to acquire up to 24.99% of Summit State Bank. Both institutions are headquartered in Santa Rosa. Combining them would create the city's biggest bank.

The Wilmington, North Carolina-based small-business lender is prepping a wider rollout of the business checking account it introduced in the first quarter. Chairman and CEO Chip Mahan said the move will allow the company to "nip at [its competitors'] edges as their customers feel less appreciated."

The $417 million agreement would give Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bankshares "the critical mass" it needs in its home state and neighboring North Carolina, according to CEO John Asbury. He and his counterpart Jeff Haley at American National Bankshares in Danville, Virginia, describe each other as longtime pals.

Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman said Key's reduction efforts were prompted by an expectation big banks will be expected to operate with significantly lower loan-to-deposit ratios going forward.

Several community banks noted an uptick in problem loans in second-quarter earnings reports. Small lenders should brace for more of this, industry observers noted.

Executives say Bank of New York Mellon can maintain its upbeat forecasts on net interest income and perhaps beat its expense-control goals. However, they warn deposits could shrink in the second half.

The New York megabank benefited duing the second quarter from strong revenue growth in its giant credit card business, which helped overcome headwinds in wealth management and investment banking. But executives indicated that the script could soon flip.

Isabella Guzman, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, skipped a congressional hearing called to discuss the wide disparity in the level of fraud calculated by her staff and a parallel examination conducted by SBA's Office of the Inspector General.