Commercial lending

Rather than fueling uncertainty, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should be devising strategies that facilitate clearer policies that bring more certainty to lending markets.

In this month's roundup of top banking news: a Supreme Court ruling on CFPB funding, TD Bank's money laundering woes, an FDIC workplace probe reveals a culture of misconduct and more.

The bank took a big hit on an office property in Washington, D.C., during the first quarter. This month, it filed a shelf registration statement for an offering of up to $150 million that could be used to bolster capital or refinance debt.

While the $800 billion in PPP loans has largely self-liquidated through the forgiveness process, SBA continues to service the longer-duration EIDL portfolio and will likely be doing so for years to come after opting to hold on to the loans.

West Coast Community Bancorp agreed to acquire 1st Capital Bancorp in an all-stock deal slated to close in the fourth quarter.

The $116 million deal to acquire HMN Financial in Rochester would mark the 26th acquisition of this century for Alerus. The transaction is slated to close in the fourth quarter.

The small business lender's bankrupt shell has agreed to pay up to $120 million in connection with allegations that its verification processes for Paycheck Protection Program loan applications were faulty. The government argued that Kabbage reaped larger fees by enabling fraudulently inflated loans.

Executives also say funding pressures have begun to ease, though high interest rates and deposit costs remain a leading worry, according to new surveys.

Quaint Oak Bancorp sold its majority stake in an equipment lender less than two years after the partnership helped drive record profits at the Southampton-based company.

A group of 24 institutional investors say a recent pledge by the British bank to restrict financing for companies that focus exclusively on fossil-fuel exploration and extraction doesn't go far enough.

Bank stocks are up this year as interest rates have leveled off and there are hopes that pressure on lenders' profits could moderate.

OakNorth Bank in London is eager to utilize the data it's collected from providing risk management software to American banks over the past five years. Its growth plans include eventually acquiring a charter here and making commercial real estate loans.

Banks maintain lists of consulting firms that they trust to help troubled commercial borrowers to fix their businesses. These specialists say they're getting more calls, especially in areas such as multifamily and CRE, from business owners who need help.

Nearly 15 years ago, Les Lieberman and other organizers of Porticoes Capital used a shelf charter to buy a spate of failed banks. Now they're hoping to replay the strategy.

The embattled Long Island bank unveiled a turnaround plan that involves selling noncore assets and diversifying its commercial loan book. But first, it will need to sort through credit-related challenges in its large commercial real estate portfolio.

Resolutions calling for more details about how the two banks protect Indigenous people's rights failed to win majority approval on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase shareholders are scheduled to vote on a similar proposal next month.

The combination of the two regional banks is set to create a $64.5 billion-asset company with a 13-state footprint across parts of the Midwest, South and West.

Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, wants the agency to get involved in direct lending, a practice that was discontinued during the Clinton administration. Congress has not embraced the idea, to put it mildly.