Retail & Commercial

The Securities and Exchange Commission has given community banks and other small companies more flexibility to issue private stock, but even more flexibility should be granted to fulfill congressional intent.

HSBC and American Express Ventures are part of a $75 million investment in Tradeshift, a company that speeds payments between companies and suppliers.

WSFS Financial Corporation in Wilmington, Del., is looking to raise $100 million through the sale of notes and plans to use the proceeds for a range of purposes, including possible acquisitions.

Outstanding consumer credit, a measure of nonmortgage debt, rose by a seasonally adjusted $13.4 billion in April from March, according to the Federal Reserve.

Walk down your average street in this country, and you'll find it easier to take out a loan than buy a coffee. With 22,000 payday lending locations in the U.S., Starbucks would have to grow three times in size to compete. Since the 1990s, annual loan volume has bloated to an estimated $27 billion. That's a lot of coffee.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in Lodi, Calif., has agreed to buy Delta National Bancorp in Manteca, Calif.

With its very survival at stake, the San Francisco-based marketplace lender is balancing key priorities that are sometimes in conflict with each other.

Trustmark in Jackson, Miss., reduced its workforce by more than 6% by offering early retirement packages.

Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., is planning to raise about $160 million through a common stock offering.

Highlands Bancorp in Vernon, N.J., has raised $7.5 million to exit the Small Business Lending Fund.