Small business lending

The latest directive, which takes effect in March, allows only U.S. citizens and nationals to seek government-guaranteed financing. It's drawing criticism from Democrats in Congress, small-business advocates and some lenders.

Democratic senators are attributing a recent decline in lending activity to a Trump administration regulation that puts new restrictions on borrowers with foreign ownership.

A new bill from Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., would streamline the Securities and Exchange Commission's small-business surveys, which the agency uses to consider the needs of small businesses in rulemakings.

PayPal and other fintechs already offer small business loans based on future payment flows, creating a competitive market.

The latest linkup with the software provider Wave gives Fundbox access to more than 350,000 potential borrowers. It's the fourth major partnership that Texas-based Fundbox has announced in 2025.

Philadelphia-area Citadel Credit Union is starting to see a payoff from a major investment in its business banking operations. 

BayFirst Financial, which has reported problems with SBA loans, expects to reach an agreement with its regulators in connection with credit administration and other issues.

In an environment of persistent economic unease, banks have a unique opportunity to help small businesses, Sekou Kaalund, U.S. Bank's head of branch and small business banking, said at American Banker's 2025 Small Business Banking conference.

A number of banks experienced major increases in 7(a) lending activity during SBA's recently completed fiscal year, as program-wide loan volume topped $37 billion for the first time.

BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg shuttered a national small-dollar 7(a) loan program in August. Now the $2.4 billion institution, which has been one of the nation's most active SBA lenders over the past decade, is making a clean break from the business.

A Small Business Administration policy enacted during the second Trump administration blocks not only people who are in the country illegally, but also legal temporary residents and even some U.S. citizens, from accessing government-guaranteed loans.

Fintechs are rolling out business financing tools that are packaged as buy now/pay later and earned wage access in the hopes of capturing momentum from the budding consumer finance industries.

The agency says the move, which it made pursuant to a Trump directive, reverses Obama-era policies and requires banks to restore access to customers allegedly cut off for political or ideological reasons.

U.S. Bank's merchant acquiring unit has expanded its partnership with embedded finance fintech Liberis to offer its small business clients working capital loans.The two companies previously offered loans in the U.K., Ireland and Poland.

Northeast Bank and its fintech lending partner Newity have engineered a surge in 7(a) loans that has helped the Portland, Maine-based bank boost profits as tightened regulatory standards made the loans harder to get.

A coalition of consumer groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and acting Director Russell Vought for refusing to implement a statutorily mandated small-business data collection rule that is already tied up in litigation.

A number of fintechs emerged amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a flurry of Paycheck Protection Program loan applications inundated banks. Now, the government is alleging many of them facilitated or committed fraud.

Barely two years after adopting a bank charter, NewtekOne in Florida plans to expand beyond its roots as an SBA 7(a) lender by growing its alternative loan program.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cited ongoing litigation and cost benefits in extending compliance by roughly a year with reporting data on the race, ethnicity and gender of small business loan applicants.

Small businesses are essential to the ongoing prosperity of the United States, but they are not well served by the country's largest banks. For everyone's sake, that needs to change.