In|Vest 2018 Direct

This week the Small Business Administration followed through with a controversial policy change by granting access to its flagship 7(a) program to three additional nonbank lenders. These new participants vowed to ramp up their small-business lending efforts.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council enhanced its powers to designate nonbank financial institutions as systemically important Friday, emphasizing transparency and the need to protect financial stability.

The 16-year-old site struggled to monetize, but experts said personal financial management products should focus on engagement.

Amazon's buy now/pay later partnership with Affirm expands; NAFCU-CUNA merger gets affirmative vote from members; expense-reporting firm Navan rolls out European bank partnerships; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Karen Kerrigan is president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr says that while there has been some opposition to the recent overhaul of Community Reinvestment Act regulations, he expects that banks, supervisors and communities will adapt and thrive once it's fully implemented.

Taking the reins again as chief executive of Block following the recent departure of CEO Alyssa Henry, Jack Dorsey has launched internal changes to jump-start growth, eliminate silos and promote the use of artificial intelligence.

Aruna Kalyanam is a principal in the sustainability tax practice at Ernst & Young. As Americas sustainability and ESG tax leader, she leads teams and works with colleagues around the globe to help clients identify and evaluate sustainability funding opportunities and ESG reporting requirements. 

Kristen A. Gray is EY Americas sustainability tax leader. She has nearly 20 years of experience helping multinational companies address complex tax issues, including transactions and strategic planning, controversy and global compliance and reporting matters. She provides strategic counsel to clients around the intersection of tax and environmental, social and governance matters. Prior to her current role, she served as a partner in the national tax accounting and risk advisory services practice, focusing on life sciences, technology and media clients.

Companies such as Visa and Mastercard, as well as banks and retailers, are stepping up their investments in artificial intelligence to reach small businesses and spot new uses.