Commercial lending

Inventory shortfalls continue to constrain commercial lending, while the savings glut is holding back consumer borrowing, industry executives say. The good news: At some banks, pipelines are at or above pre-pandemic levels.

The Biden administration will award $1.25 billion to hundreds of community lenders in an effort to speed the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Kamala Harris will announce on Tuesday.

KMD Partners, which makes high-interest rate loans through its CreditNinja brand, has agreed to acquire the $11.7 million-asset Liberty Bank. The purchase is likely to draw scrutiny, but the companies argue that it will help borrowers with lower credit scores qualify for less expensive loans.

Fears of widespread credit losses have largely subsided, but demand for new commercial real estate loans remains lackluster because many companies are sitting on so much cash they don’t need to borrow. Meanwhile, competition from private equity groups and other nonbank lenders is escalating.

Chief operating officer Sam Sidhu takes over as president and chief executive on July 1. He has a list of 25 potential markets the Pennsylvania bank might enter, and has already begun hiring commercial bankers in Texas, Florida and Illinois.

Just as small and midsize businesses had to adapt to survive the coronavirus emergency, lenders need to adopt new underwriting practices and technologies that modernize how they evaluate borrowers' creditworthiness.

On Mar. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

JPMorgan Chase hired executives from Goldman Sachs Group and Wells Fargo to run a new arm focused on growth-equity investing and direct lending, as it seeks to give clients exposure to companies before they go public.

The acting comptroller of the currency, appointed by the Biden administration, signaled that the regulation meant to provide legal clarity about the secondary market is safe for the time being.

In merging with First Midwest Bancorp, the Indiana company would finally gain a presence in the Midwest’s largest city.

On Mar. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

The U.S. unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank plans to invest in CDFIs and specialized funds that serve Black, Hispanic and other diverse business owners in its East Coast territory.

Nearly a quarter of Black business owners seeking Paycheck Protection Program loans last year applied to fintechs — not far behind the percentage that turned to community banks, according to a New York Fed study. Deepening those new relationships could be a major source of growth for online lenders.

Huntingdon Valley Bank in Pennsylvania and First Savings Bank in Indiana are among the banks extending their relationships with software providers to make small-business lending more efficient after the Paycheck Protection Program is phased out.

Under a plan signed into law in March, the agency will first target direct loans that it has made to socially disadvantaged farmers. Guidance that will affect small banks that have made government-backed agricultural loans is due in 120 days.

The Small Business Administration’s sluggish pace in forgiving the biggest Paycheck Protection Program loans is straining relations between banks and some borrowers.

The maker of software that helps banks offer "buy now, pay later" loans at the point of sale says its latest funding round has pushed it into unicorn status.

The Amsterdam bank offers to directly credit a small business's invoices early after a vetting process — but before the invoice is paid.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.