Commercial lending

Groups representing community banks and credit unions argue that the Department of Agriculture used a faulty process when it removed 10 lenders from its OneRD loan guarantee program

Five Star Bank near Sacramento plans to expand in Lodi, an agricultural hub in the Golden State's Central Valley region. The lender's growth push comes as the number of farm banks has been shrinking.

CEO Lynn Harton said his Greenville, South Carolina-based bank struggled the past year to keep Navitas from overshooting the limit the bank set for its expanding portfolio, about 10% of total loans.

The Minneapolis-based bank is offering loans to providers planning to build practices from scratch — a reversal after years of serving only existing practices.

Private credit should no longer be evaluated primarily as a yield story. Under current conditions, the underlying structure of deals is playing a much larger role in determining performance.

Sens. Ed Markey and Ron Wyden argue that the Small Business Administration neglected to warn small firms of the risks of merchant cash advances and closed off a key "escape route" from the resulting debts.

The 22nd State Bank in Mobile has been developing its national Always.bank subsidiary over the past year. 22nd State, which was founded in 1917, is eyeing a summertime launch for the online unit.

Stephen Curley, who was the chief banking officer at Phoenix-based Western Alliance, will join Maryland-based Eagle Bancorp as president and CEO in July. Eagle's current CEO previously announced plans to retire after the bank racked up big losses in office loans.

At its first-ever investor day, the Phoenix-based bank fended off questions stemming from two recently disclosed problem loans, including one that resulted in a $126 million charge-off.

As gas prices surge, small businesses — particularly in agriculture and transportation — have struggled to keep up. For banks, this has brought a combination of short-term benefits and long-term concerns.

The Iran war's disruptions have sent oil prices jumping, but drillers are far more disciplined than they were a decade ago.

The recent uptick in commercial-and-industrial lending is the result of disruption in the private credit sector, one economist argues. Bank analysts say the upheaval in private credit is one factor among many.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a new version of a small-business lending rule that took 17 years to get over the finish line. Banks are still lobbying for the rule to be repealed.

Blue Owl Capital faces fresh scrutiny from investors and Wall Street analysts with the release of its first-quarter earnings.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to finalize a contentious rule mandating the collection of demographic data on small-business borrowers, with the aim of ensuring equal access to credit for women and minority owners.

The Pittsburgh-based bank expanded its geographic footprint — and grew its loans and deposits during the first quarter — with the purchase of FirstBank in Colorado. Expenses also rose as the bank paid up to begin integrating its acquisition.