Commercial lending

Capital markets hold the key to the future for the consolidating Wall Street landlords, but the path through is downright bloody.

Freddie Mac in the next month plans to approve three more lenders, including one bank, to make multifamily loans between $1 million and $5 million for GSE purchase and securitization, according to an official. Banks were not initially courted.

By targeting construction lending, 1st Financial Bank USA aims to expand beyond its hefty concentration in credit card loans while entering a business segment that has shrunk mightily since the financial crisis.

Investors' demands that the country's biggest bank produce better earnings amid costlier regulations are prompting fresh cries to break up JPMorgan Chase.

Federal bank regulators increased the asset-size thresholds for the definition of a "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" for certain bank exams on Friday.

Because of a regulatory quirk, Lending Club and its competitors depend on banks to issue their loans. The set-up raises questions about the regulatory outlook for the fast-growing marketplace lending sector.

Once known as peer-to-peer, online marketplace lending grew phenomenally and evolved rapidly in 2014, as capital flooded in from institutional investors and traditional bankers sat up and took notice.

Mortgage lending, particularly for bigger banks, cooled some in October as home buying season ended. Meanwhile, loan pricing deteriorated again, showing that lenders are still cutting rates to land the best credits.

LendingTree already facilitated small-business loans through its online marketplace that funds consumer and other loans; its web portal opened Wednesday exclusively shops small-business loans to individual and institutional investors.

Lawmakers in state capitals across the country are increasingly intrigued by arguments for public banks. With the financial crisis fueling disdain for the banking industry in general, some view these banks as an appealing alternative to a system they consider to be broken. But Eric Hardmeyer, president and chief executive of the Bank of North Dakota, is not so sure.

Each of the banks with the largest exposure to Donald Trump has taken some piece of his assets, leaving just enough left over so that Trump still has a stake in using his public stature to generate wealth.