Commercial lending

Federal rules for technology-based firms providing the fast-moving sector certainty and consistency would be a benefit, even if rules are suboptimal.

The findings from the California Department of Business Oversight, which also included data on interest rates and delinquencies, could be a precursor to new state regulations.

The bank says the partnership will improve the online experience for borrowers. It is just the latest example of banks and online lenders teaming up to speed up decision-making and win over new customers.

BofI Holding is looking to make more acquisitions and its leader says he doesn’t think accusations from a former employee are unlikely to hold up a deal, even though they’ve dragged down the stock price.

BlueVine, an online business lender based in Palo Alto, Calif., is branching into unsecured lending.

Lending Club, Prosper Marketplace and Funding Circle are locking arms to create a new trade group that will represent the marketplace lending industry in Washington.

As more employers offer student loan repayment assistance to their workers, lenders that specialize in refinancing debt — like Citizens Financial and SoFi — see an opportunity to reel in more customers.

The former head of the FDIC has a longstanding interest in small-dollar consumer lending.

AmeriServ Financial in Johnstown, Pa., will record a first-quarter loss because an unnamed energy-sector client plans to liquidate under bankruptcy protection.

The payments pioneer is transforming its merchant cash advance into a business loan, a move that has significant legal and regulatory implications.

Word that Hancock Holding in Mississippi would more than double its loan-loss allowance has triggered broader questions about how the oil slump could spread beyond the energy portfolios of a whole class of banks.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has hired Jeffrey Zaks, a CIT Group banker, to lead its new media and entertainment lending group.

Buyers of certain syndicated corporate loans have had an incentive to drag their feet closing trades; they will soon pay a hefty price if they don't do their part. The reform should help lenders get assets off their books faster.

With energy stocks enjoying the biggest rebound since the beginning of the oil rout, short sellers have shifted their sights to regional banks that do business with the industry.

Hancock Holding is warning of more pain in its energy portfolio as low prices continue to hamper oil and gas firms’ ability to repay their loans.

As online business lenders grow in number, size and prominence, a new trade group is being launched to represent their interests in Washington.

Bay Banks of Virginia in Kilmarnock has increased the size of its fourth-quarter loss, after a commercial borrower pleaded guilty to creating false financial statements.

The subprime consumer lender currently rejects many of its personal loan applicants. It hopes to qualify more borrowers by offering cash to those who are willing to put their cars up as collateral.

A program recently started in New York helps entrepreneurs improve their business plans and cash flow before sending them to a bank. The nonprofit lender behind the program, meanwhile, hopes to boost small-business borrowers' credit scores and lower their rates.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams discusses the potential for new fintech products to make predatory lending easier, whether big banks need to be broken up, and the likelihood of another recession.