Commercial lending

Working with Sungage Financial will help NBT Bancorp diversify its consumer loan portfolio and learn from a fintech startup with a speedy credit approval process.

What's more, loan officers' pay has dropped. At work behind these surprising trends is a blend of economic forces, technological change and pressure on banks to pay entry-level employees better.

New data shows that large commercial banks are increasing their originations of single-family construction loans, but these loans still represent a small percentage of their total assets.

CIT will provide revolving and term loan commitments of up to $100 million through a partnership with the Northbrook, Ill., insurance company.

Readers this week highlighted the need for banks to upgrade payments systems, debated a small bank’s decision to ditch its legacy core vendor, lamented populist initiatives of the GSEs, and more.

With traditional mortgage lending opportunities becoming increasingly scarce, banks in Seattle and Portland are loading up on jumbos, diving into multifamily and reviving dormant bridge loan programs.

Klarna, the Swedish fintech that recently received a banking license, has already inspired a generation of similar fintech competitors.

The subprime business lender halted new business and laid off scores of employees after recording higher-than-expected losses.

Green Bancorp has pivoted from the troubled energy-lending market to SBA loans, which are appealing to more small banks because they can be sold at a premium and are getting more support from Washington.

Net interest margins are on the rise and banks have the green light to return more capital to shareholders, but commercial lending and consumer credit quality remain trouble spots.