Small business lending

First Women's Bank received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this week and is set to open its doors in the fall. It is the first new bank to be chartered in Illinois since 2010.

Native American reservations have some of the country's highest concentrations of unbanked households. But tribes are finding ways to get their members access to capital — with or without banks.

Though the Paycheck Protection Program is winding down, the Small Business Administration has prolonged several other pandemic relief programs. Community banks can help local businesses sort through their options.

The Biden administration will award $1.25 billion to hundreds of community lenders in an effort to speed the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Kamala Harris will announce on Tuesday.

Just as small and midsize businesses had to adapt to survive the coronavirus emergency, lenders need to adopt new underwriting practices and technologies that modernize how they evaluate borrowers' creditworthiness.

The U.S. unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank plans to invest in CDFIs and specialized funds that serve Black, Hispanic and other diverse business owners in its East Coast territory.

Nearly a quarter of Black business owners seeking Paycheck Protection Program loans last year applied to fintechs — not far behind the percentage that turned to community banks, according to a New York Fed study. Deepening those new relationships could be a major source of growth for online lenders.

Huntingdon Valley Bank in Pennsylvania and First Savings Bank in Indiana are among the banks extending their relationships with software providers to make small-business lending more efficient after the Paycheck Protection Program is phased out.

The Small Business Administration’s sluggish pace in forgiving the biggest Paycheck Protection Program loans is straining relations between banks and some borrowers.

The Amsterdam bank offers to directly credit a small business's invoices early after a vetting process — but before the invoice is paid.

Applications for small business and commercial real estate loans are rising, creating some optimism among lenders — and more temptation to loosen standards to land those borrowers.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

The head of government guaranteed lending at WSFS, Caruso aims to parlay the bank's success with Paycheck Protection Program lending to better serve early-stage small businesses.

As chief credit officer, Horton oversaw the bank's certification as a Small Business Administration lender and participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Paycheck Protection Program has about $8 billion remaining, with those funds earmarked for community development financial institutions, minority depository institutions and other mission-driven lenders.

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.

The investment, tied to PNC's deal to acquire BBVA USA, was always going to be large but seemed to grow as CEO Bill Demchak got intimately involved in the discussions and the needs of communities and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic became more apparent.

The legislation, led by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., would qualify many farmers, ranchers and self-employed Americans for more Paycheck Protection Program funds.

When it was launched a year ago, the program was criticized for glitches and a focus on larger borrowers. Since then technical improvements have been made, smaller loans have been prioritized, and other changes favored by lenders have been implemented.

Bankers are already working on marketing materials and new products for commercial borrowers that might secure government contracts under President Biden's $2 trillion American Jobs Plan.