Commercial lending

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Lending Club, the nation's largest marketplace lender, announced Tuesday that it has raised interest rates on its new loans by an average of 0.25% in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board's recent rate hike.

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Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., will increase its allowance for loan losses by $42 million to cover weakness in energy-related credits.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered payday and pawn lender EZCorp Inc. to pay $10.5 million for alleged illegal debt collection tactics.

Ally Financial, seeking new sources of customers, will finance used cars sold through Beepi, an 18- month-old website that lets people buy vehicles with a few clicks and no test drive.

The $933-million asset institution said in a press release Tuesday that the technology, provided by Louisville-based R.C. Giltner Services, will enable consumer and small-business customers to complete the loan application process in minutes.

Bank officials say they are ready for rising rates; disagree on how much the initial increase would help or hurt lending and the economy; and predict more rate increases next year.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has created a formal division for lending to municipal governments and has promoted executive Debbie McLeod to lead the venture.

An interbank loan market that was created for small and regional banks has begun operations, recording $15 million in transactions on its first day.

Southwest Bancorp in Stillwater, Okla., has hired a group of former National Bank Holdings commercial lenders to lead its Colorado market.

California regulators on Monday identified 14 companies that the state is targeting as part of its recently announced inquiry into the marketplace lending industry.

Relations between banks and fintech companies are starting to thaw as the two sides begin to acknowledge the advantages of scale that exist when they join forces.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company plans to offer subprime borrowers the ability to get an auto loan online or through a smartphone.

The first state inquiry into marketplace lending is seeking information from a broad mix of companies, including consumer lenders, small-business lenders, and firms that are not primarily in the lending business.

News that two suspected terrorists took out a loan with a prominent marketplace lender has fueled fears online lending is more susceptible to terrorist financing. Yet experts said that the criticism directed at the industry appears unfounded. Here's why.

Community bank executives are wary about the year ahead. Cybersecurity threats, the real possibility of even tighter margins after the Federal Reserve acts, and compliance woes are among their concerns.

California officials have opened a broad inquiry into the marketplace lending business, seeking data from industry participants that will be used to assess the effectiveness of the state's current regulatory regime.

The Dec. 2 mass shooting has shone a light on the sector's vulnerability to borrowers who, exploiting the absence of face-to-face contact on the Internet, lie on their loan applications.