Commercial lending

Multifamily and specialty finance loans, which were highlights during the fourth quarter, should increase further in 2022, company executives said.

The Pennsylvania bank is working with the data provider Enigma and Capital One on a platform they are hoping other banks will use. The technology handles all aspects of the loans and provides data and analytics on borrowers.

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.