Small business lending

Struggling to find quality loans in the grueling Philadelphia market, Beneficial Bank is looking to accelerate growth by building a nationwide leasing firm from the ground up.

Millennium Bank in Tennessee has quickened approval times on loan applications by using software that frees lenders from repetitive, manual tasks. The result: Loan balances have increased by more than 50% in less than two years.

The bank on Monday launched a loyalty and rewards program aimed at small businesses.

On Dec. 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands, except for average loan amount.

Only North Dakota has its own state-owned bank, but policymakers in other states say more public banks are necessary to fully meet society's needs. Among those who proponents say would benefit the most: small-business owners and legal marijuana suppliers and distributors.

The e-commerce giant is muscling its way into a number of businesses that banks have long dominated.

Fundbox is testing a payments and credit network for small businesses and their business clients that may offer an alternative to traditional lenders, credit card issuers and supplier financing.

The online lender is hiring Kenneth Brause, a CIT Group executive, to succeed CFO Howard Katzenberg.

Amazon.com is planning to offer a credit card to U.S. small-business customers, furthering its push to supply companies with everything from reams of paper to factory parts, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Franklin Synergy and MidFirst both plan to deploy the online lending platform, which according to its creator can render loan decisions in just under three minutes.