Commercial lending

A few months ago bankers were more hopeful than confident about an end to depressed demand for business credit. Now CEOs at Huntington, Fifth Third, Mercantile Bank and other companies are touting strong fourth-quarter loan growth, burgeoning pipelines and local job creation as reasons for optimism.

Loans to car sellers plummeted earlier in the pandemic due to chip shortages that hampered vehicle production. But supply improvements since last fall have fueled the start of a rebound.

The Mississippi bank’s addition of more than a dozen bankers last year helped drive a $250 million increase in new loans during the fourth quarter. To keep the momentum going, CEO John Hairston said he intends to hire aggressively in 2022.

The company sold small businesses a credit-building product that fell short of its promises, and also failed to help them fix inaccuracies in their credit reports, according to the Federal Trade Commission. D&B has agreed to give refunds to many customers.

Business inventories, a key indicator of potential loan demand, are expected to swing upward this year as supply chain bottlenecks finally crack open, according to a panel of economists.

OneUnited's new installment-loan product is meant to break customers out of a cycle of debt. It will compete with similar offerings from heavyweights like Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Huntington.

Though the dining sector has been hit hard by COVID-19, restaurateurs have pivoted to drive-thru and curbside options, and rising grocery prices are making eating out comparatively less pricey.

Apollo Global Management has launched a new direct lending platform that offers individual investors access to large corporate loans, making it the latest non-bank lender to try to take advantage of soaring demand for private credit.

The $3 billion-asset company is expecting to add seven branches in the northwestern part of the state, and to expand its commercial lending business in the Toledo market, with the acquisition of Comunibanc Corp.

A gauge of U.S. firms extending credit climbed in December to the highest level in almost 18 years, signaling a strong bet on the economy’s prospects and heavy investment in automation.