Commercial lending

First Republic's failure last year left its wine bankers available for poaching. The group joined Umpqua Bank, whose expansion in the wine business comes at a tricky time for the industry.

A recent deal with a gourmet cookie franchise highlights the business that Ogden-based TAB Bank has built lending to companies other banks shy away from.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed measures designed to bolster consumer protection rules. The bills target several issues that have also been percolating at the federal level.

As the commercial real estate industry sputters along, lenders, investors and analysts are putting less stock in loan-to-value ratios, a longtime bellwether of risk.

Anticipated interest rate cuts could help stressed borrowers, but such a shift in monetary policy may curb lending income.

Executives from JPMorgan Chase, TD, U.S. Bank, M&T and other banks will gather to discuss how they serve small-business clients, what those customers want now and what they expect in 2025 and beyond.

A coalition of 105 organizations has analyzed the flow of financing to large, greenhouse-gas-emitting livestock operations and found these three banks do the bulk of loans. 

The regional bank has already seen a large reduction in "criticized" loans, and it expects that trend to pick up as lower borrowing costs alleviate the pain in the commercial real estate sector.

The bank faced credit setbacks in the nation's capital and margin pressure this year. But it made a series of hires to reduce risk and diversify its loan portfolio, preparing for a new era of demand as the industry awaits interest rate cuts.

The Minneapolis-based banking giant is enjoying its biggest year ever for 7(a) lending, with volume up 40%, as borrowers "are still coming to us," its SBA chief said.