Commercial lending

As banks pull back from energy lending, some of the world’s biggest hedge funds are rushing in to fill the gap in oil country.

The fintech specializes in lending to dentists, veterinarians and other solo providers looking to grow or establish their own practice.

Cannabis, though still illegal at the federal level, continues to inch into the financial mainstream. Small credit unions and lenders as large as Valley National and East West have moved beyond just taking deposits from marijuana companies.

Inventory shortfalls continue to constrain commercial lending, while the savings glut is holding back consumer borrowing, industry executives say. The good news: At some banks, pipelines are at or above pre-pandemic levels.

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.

KMD Partners, which makes high-interest rate loans through its CreditNinja brand, has agreed to acquire the $11.7 million-asset Liberty Bank. The purchase is likely to draw scrutiny, but the companies argue that it will help borrowers with lower credit scores qualify for less expensive loans.

Fears of widespread credit losses have largely subsided, but demand for new commercial real estate loans remains lackluster because many companies are sitting on so much cash they don’t need to borrow. Meanwhile, competition from private equity groups and other nonbank lenders is escalating.

Chief operating officer Sam Sidhu takes over as president and chief executive on July 1. He has a list of 25 potential markets the Pennsylvania bank might enter, and has already begun hiring commercial bankers in Texas, Florida and Illinois.

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.

On Mar. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.