Retail & Commercial

Banks can help ease a severe national shortage in affordable rental properties — and make money doing it.

Opportunities abound, in affordable housing, capital raising, consumer lending and more. We aim to get you thinking about how new developments on many fronts could affect your business as you plan for the coming year and beyond.

Recent high-profile settlements and a New York Times article have drawn fresh attention to problems in the debt collection industry. Many of these could be resolved with the deployment of a trusted national database for consumer debt.

Dilip Ratha, an economist at the World Bank, shows how the power of a simple remittance sent from one family member to another could be magnified to improve the lives of poor people.

Heritage Bankshares in Norfolk, Va., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund, ahead of its proposed deal to be acquired by Southern BancShares in Mount Olive, N.C.

As debt collection abuse cases rise in prominence and regulators ponder new rules, it's time to give the idea of a national debt registry a closer look.

SB Financial Group in Defiance, Ohio, has bought a former Fifth Third Bank branch in Bowling Green, Ohio.

The Dodd-Frank Act is a burden on community banks and credit unions but regulators are struggling to quantify the costs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.

Prime Meridian Holding in Tallahassee, Fla., has tapped a board member to serve as its new chief financial officer.

Lawmakers are expected to debate a number of key banking provisions this year, even with the November elections on the horizon.