Commercial lending

Dan O'Malley, who until very recently ran the fintech incubator at Eastern Bank (and before that was at Capital One), now has a startup called Numerated Growth Technologies and software that he says can process loans in five minutes.

Post-crisis financial rules have made the business of project lending less profitable for commercial banks. Foreign competitors have stepped in to fill the void, but U.S. banks can carve out a niche as bond offering managers and financial advisers.

Here are 10 banks the investment banking firm KBW says are ripe M&A targets because they are in hot markets, face various growth challenges that make them vulnerable or have private-equity owners looking to cash out.

Bill would replace much of Dodd-Frank but is unlikely to become law; online retailer is expected to expand Amazon Lending program to small businesses in the U.S., U.K. and Japan.

The Louisiana company, which fired its CEO earlier this year, has been paying a hefty dividend on funds it obtained from the Treasury Department in 2011.

Lending and managing money for recording artists and labels can be a profitable niche. But volatile income streams, intellectual property challenges and business model upheaval can trip up the inexperienced.

Citizens Financial is going out of market to find midsize businesses in need of credit or advisory services in uncertain times. It is a good example of the resiliency that regional banks are showing amid softer loan demand, Washington gridlock and still-low interest rates.

On March 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands

More business lending is shifting from banks to "murky" trusts as the government imposes more restrictions to reduce risky loans; 11 states advance suit as Justice Department retreats.

An aggressive band of community, regional and investment banks is stepping into the commercial real estate void left by more cautious lenders, saying there are still good CRE loans to be made or bought.