Retail & Commercial

More than a year into the pandemic, with the U.S. economy improving and consumers having paid down debt, bankers are finally loosening the reins in auto lending and credit cards.

Lenders including Howard Bancorp and First Carolina Bank are shunning acquisitions as a route into new markets, to avoid overpaying for targets and inheriting potential loan problems.

Challenger banks like Spiral and Greenwood Financial make charitable giving easy through their apps to build stronger relationships with socially conscious customers.

The company, once known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, plans to launch the as-yet-unnamed platform by the end of this year.

Cordray, named this week to lead the Education Department's office of federal student aid, cracked down on banks, student loan servicers and for-profit colleges when he was director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The specialty lender provides leases for preowned Ferraris, Porsches, McLarens, Lamborghinis and other luxury cars.

The purchases of Truck Insurance Specialists and Hometown Insurance are expected to help the company expand its dealings in transportation and agriculture.

The online lender was not a party to the lawsuit involving the Federal Trade Commission and a payday lender, but it could emerge as one of the big winners from the Supreme Court’s decision.

Two new government reports suggest that U.S. consumers’ fortunes have improved since the start of the pandemic, with bankruptcies falling sharply and fewer people falling behind on bills. But it’s not clear how long the positive trends will sustain themselves as government relief efforts wind down and evictions and foreclosures resume.

With the Paycheck Protection Program likely winding down at the end of the month, many lenders are seeing heightened demand for the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) and 504 loans.