Commercial lending

The upstate New York company unloaded three loans, joining a short list of lenders that have purged problematic credits during the pandemic.

The Cleveland company will launch the service in March to broaden relationships its Laurel Road student loan refinancing unit has built with health care professionals.

The Dallas bank says reserves could return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021— a year earlier than analysts were predicting — if vaccines prove effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Businesses owned by minorities and women got a head start this week in a new round of $284 billion funding, and early anecdotal evidence suggests stronger demand coming from these businesses.

A slower-than-expected rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and the threat of social unrest after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol could threaten the recovery, according to an American Bankers Association panel.

First Bank in New Jersey, Northeast Bank in Maine and others have warmed to the idea of using software to streamline Paycheck Protection Program lending so that employees can be more hands-on with customers.

The pace of forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program loans is expected to accelerate when the Small Business Administration issues guidance on additional steps meant to streamline the process.

The Small Business Administration will allow lenders with less than $1 billion of assets to process applications in two days. The portal will open to all lenders on Tuesday.

Commercial real estate portfolios have held up better than expected during the pandemic. But rising delinquencies and fears of a delayed economic recovery are renewing questions about credit quality.

Several community banks said they didn't have enough time to review the Paycheck Protection Program's application forms, forcing them to sit out Monday's reopening. The SBA is not saying when more lenders will be allowed to access its portal.