Commercial lending

Gilles Gade, one our community bankers to watch in 2021, led an effort that made Cross River Bank one of the biggest Paycheck Protection Program participants. He is ready for his team to pick up where it left off when the new stimulus package kicks in.

The measure, just the second of its kind the nation, mandates that fintechs, factoring firms and other nonbank small-business lenders clearly explain the terms and conditions to borrowers.

The legislation would let banks postpone the start date of the Current Expected Credit Losses accounting standard and delay categorizing pandemic-related loan modifications as troubled debt restructurings.

The legislation allows the Small Business Administration to waive fees and raise the guarantee for 7(a) and 504 loans, which could encourage more small businesses to apply for loans as the economy recovers.

The Oregon bank has launched a new division targeting businesses with up to $15 million in annual sales and tapped the banker who led its Paycheck Protection Program lending, Ashley Hayslip, to run it.

At least two items on the industry's Paycheck Protection Program wish list were delivered: provisions allowing many existing borrowers to obtain new funding and streamlined forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less.

Win or lose, Citibank’s battle to recover half a billion dollars from an accidental payment is sure to prompt a review of internal controls in the industry and could have a lasting impact on the more than $1 trillion syndicated loan market.

The online lender, which raised $240 million, wants to take its artificial intelligence technology for evaluating borrowers to the next level and expand its partnerships with banks, its CEO says.

A new report from McKinsey says that cost-cutting alone won’t make up for the steep revenue declines brought on by low interest rates and sluggish loan demand. “For some banks,” argues the report’s author, “mergers might be the best way out.”

Fifth Third is partnering with Provide and Panacea Financial works with Sonabank in Virginia to meet the specialized needs of medical professionals who own their own practices.