Commercial lending

DMG Bancshares, formed by banking veteran Don Griffith, wants to buy more West Coast banks. For California First, the sale ends a four-year period in which it substantially shrank its loan book after it was ordered to shed leveraged loans.

The Small Business Administration is still writing rules for the Paycheck Protection Program two months after its relaunch. Lenders fear they may not have enough time to review those rules before the program’s March 31 expiration date.

Bipartisan legislation introduced Monday would permit loans made as part of the COVID-19 relief effort not to count against limits on member business lending.

The payment processing company will offer loans and deposit accounts to its small-business customers through a Utah-based industrial bank.

Turnaround times on loans in the 504 program are stretching out for weeks as the Small Business Administration grapples with a spike in applications and responsibilities tied to the Paycheck Protection Program.

Community Banks with the Largest C&I Loan Portfolios

Citigroup is one of the world's largest lenders to the fossil fuel industry, but CEO Jane Fraser vowed on Monday that the bank would achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions in its financing activities by 2050.

Community banks, which for years have relied heavily on commercial real estate lending, have been tightening underwriting standards, conducting more frequent loan reviews and stepping back from certain subsectors to minimize their credit exposure.

Already contending with stressed retail, hotel and restaurant loans, bankers are beginning to view office lending — historically a safe bet — as increasingly risky as companies of all types rethink their space needs.

Going green takes time, so lenders need to start revamping entire business relationships now, according to one sustainability-focused nonprofit. That process could include setting environmental goals for fossil-fuels companies and other customers that are conditions for continuing to finance them.