Commercial lending

A prosperous decade leading up to the pandemic had left lenders in good shape, but they're worried the economic shock to the state's most vital industry could linger into 2022.

On Jun. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Credit is tightening to 2008 levels at a time when small businesses need help the most, former SBA chief Karen Gordon Mills says.

Professional Holding has opened an office close to Boston to make loans to aspiring CEOs — often recent business school graduates — who are looking to buy their first businesses.

Underwhelming participation in the middle-market loan program has forced the central bank to reduce the minimum borrowing amount for the third time, to $100,000.

Many eateries that relied on outdoor dining to survive the pandemic could see revenues plummet as the weather turns cold.

Lenders pushed back against the notion that city dwellers' pandemic-driven flight to suburbia would hurt them. They say fewer landlords have sought deferrals as vacancy rates remain low and rent collections have stabilized.

A Small Business Administration program meant to help struggling entrepreneurs amid the coronavirus pandemic may have sent billions of dollars to scammers or ineligible applicants, the agency’s inspector general said.

Small businesses need a new round of loans and aid from the government to keep employees working as the pandemic continues to spread, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said.

The 50 biggest banks are financing industries that contribute most to the loss of the world’s species, according to a consortium of environmental experts and advocates.

Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster advances discovered later they can't get full forgiveness. Lenders want the rules changed.

Traditional lenders must embrace fintech underwriting tools that would help women- and monitory-owned businesses get loans they are too often denied.

The company's Silicon Valley Bank unit reduced its loan-loss cushion by $52 million. Private-equity and VC clients have warmed to the practice of doing deals virtually, which increases lending opportunities, SVB executives said.

The legislation would help institutions with less than $15 billion of assets avoid regulatory requirements resulting from participating in the small-business relief program.

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating unprecedented challenges for small businesses, American Express has increasingly targeted its investments in that niche.

Many of the Buffalo, N.Y., bank’s commercial loans have exited forbearance granted in the early days of the pandemic — except hospitality and retail, which were given longer dispensation.

Institutions that cling to outdated lending tools run the risk of being left behind by commercial clients who are barraged with opportunities to borrow faster and more conveniently.

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred more private buyers to acquire senior care homes, and the Oklahoma lender is eager to back them.

Banks have managed to steer around trouble spots in energy, hotel and mall-related credits. But fears of further deterioration, an eviction wave or more job losses are keeping lenders circumspect.

Weak loan demand, persistently low yields and the continued struggles of sectors such as hospitality and retail are among the myriad lending challenges facing small regional banks.