Commercial lending

The world's largest credit union reported a 5% increase in total loans in the third quarter while lending at the largest banks was almost stagnant. However, the Vienna, Virginia, institution's charge-offs also jumped significantly.

Analysts agree that the Long Island-based bank will probably absorb some losses due to its exposure to struggling segments of the commercial real estate market. But they differ on the extent of the likely damage.

The Ohio-based regional bank has laid out an ambitious expansion blueprint, including new health care asset-based lending, a Native American financial services unit and a push into commercial banking in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The passage of a Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small-business data collection rule may be only symbolic, but the rule is designed to detect and stop discrimination — something everyone should support.

Rep. Maxine Waters pressed executives from City National Bank, PNC Financial Services and Wells Fargo on opening branches in her California district and upholding promises made from recent merger agreements or consent orders.

Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House and Senate, which already had passed an identical bill, say the data-collection rule would be too onerous for lenders and small-business borrowers. President Biden is expected to veto the legislation.

Total loans at U.S. banks with less than $10 billion of assets grew by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. That was a slowdown from the previous quarter, and concerns about the viability of commercial real estate lending could dampen activity further.

The seller, Merchants and Manufacturers Bank in Illinois, has experienced rapid growth and zero lifetime losses in its niche portfolio. First Busey says that business line was a key reason it decided to buy its in-state peer.

The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.

Dream Chasers upped its bid for Carver, one of the nation's largest and highest-profile Black banks, by a quarter, to $3.25 per share, dismissing the growth strategy interim CEO Craig MacKay outlined in a recent shareholder letter.

Bankers are hopeful that several factors could strengthen profits next year, including higher loan demand and more stable funding costs as the Fed holds the line on — or even lowers — interest rates.

A medical services company is suing the nation's largest bank, alleging that it refused transactions, closed accounts and erroneously told customers that the company was subject to sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department. JPMorgan declined to comment on the suit.

Credit problems in business loans have risen in recent months, as companies that are in a weak financial position have started closing up shop. The difficulty in gauging which banks will face the most trouble is prompting many investors to stay away from the sector.

2023 proved to be a rocky year for large regional banks. But under CEO Bill Demchak's guidance, the Pittsburgh-based company has navigated the turmoil better than many of its peers.

Gov. Jim Justice alleges that Carter Bancorp engineered a technical default on a multi-million lending relationship and has blocked his company's efforts to refinance with other lenders. The lawsuit extends a dispute that started after the death of the bank's founder in 2017.

A key gauge of activity that tracks startups most likely to create jobs declined in October, potentially signaling the start of a slowdown after the rapid increase in interest rates. It presents a red flag for community banks and credit unions that are major lenders to small businesses.

Since the end of the Small Business Administration's 2022 fiscal year, the average loan size in its flagship program has dropped more than six figures. The addition of three new nondepository lenders could further drive down this figure.

Small Business Administration lending is an arena where community banks and nonbanks compete favorably with some of the largest U.S. financial institutions. Here are the biggest SBA 7(a) lenders based on the value of approved loans.

Small business clients are important to financial institutions and expected to drive growth. But to achieve that, banks must teach them to be stronger consumers.

But high costs and any downturn in the economy could weigh on lenders and their commercial borrowers in coming months, economists caution.