Small business lending

Bay Area CU launches Business Banking Division to increase, diversify loan portfolio.

A Nebraska banking veteran put up $1 million of her own money to create a microlending program that doesn't require business owners to provide traditional collateral.

From digital lending solutions for U.S. community banks to Sharia-compliant finance in Africa

First Savings Financial in Indiana and Dime Community in New York are keen on making more SBA loans as a way to diversify revenue and generate fees through loan sales.

Numerated Growth Technologies has a platform that lets banks make lending decisions in as little as five minutes. The spinoff will be run by Dan O'Malley, Eastern's former chief digital officer.

The good news: SBA lending is going gangbusters and business owners are optimistic about growth prospects and their ability to access credit. The not-so-good news: Many firms are still not particularly interested in borrowing and startups are not the engines of job creation they once were.

Noah Breslow, who drew opposition from a hedge fund that wants the online small-business lender to pursue a new course, won 84% of the vote Tuesday.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Union Bank urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday to narrow its approach to collecting data on small-business lending, fearing it could add costs and compliance burdens.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to launch an inquiry into small-business lending, the first step toward crafting a rule for the collection and reporting of data.

Five Star Bancorp in California is the latest bank to work with a marketplace lender on referrals. The move comes as the SBA programs have record volumes while concerns linger about banks working with third parties.