Small business lending

Critics complain a bill sponsored by the leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee would reinstate a moratorium on participation in the SBA's flagship 7(a) program by nondepository lenders. Supporters of the bill argue that widening the program could invite more fraud.

A federal judge has temporarily stopped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from implementing its small-business data collection rule until after the Supreme Court rules next year on whether the bureau's funding is constitutional.

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee voted nearly unanimously to advance a bill that would halt a plan by the Small Business Administration to open up some of its loan programs to fintech companies.

Solopreneurs are the new engine of business growth in the U.S., and banks and financial services regulators need to recognize their importance.

Isabella Guzman, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, skipped a congressional hearing called to discuss the wide disparity in the level of fraud calculated by her staff and a parallel examination conducted by SBA's Office of the Inspector General.

A new inspector general report suggests that grifts were more pervasive than has previously been reported. The Small Business Administration, which drew blame in the watchdog report, took issue with the findings.

Lake Trust Credit Union in Brighton, Michigan, works with a development agency in Lansing to provide entrepreneurs with the financial and educational support they need to go it alone.

The fund, which aims to create a self-sustaining, nationwide secondary market for CDFI microloans, has made progress, but it remains far short of its goal, its managing director said.

The Minneapolis bank has launched a special-purpose credit program that aims to help businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans. Borrowers with comparatively low credit scores and cash flows will qualify for lending products of up to $2.5 million.

Rep. Roger Williams, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, says Small Business Administration is considering allowing borrowers to self-certify eligibility for loans, a step some believe could lead to more fraud. The agency declined to say whether that is one of the changes it's considering.