Commercial lending

The American Bankers Association has called for an end to the government shutdown, saying it has prevented customers from securing loans and threatens even more damage.

President Trump has threatened that the closure may go on for a prolonged period. This could lead to higher loan delinquencies at credit unions that serve federal workers.

Consumer lending should also be a bright spot, while mortgage lending could be suppressed by rising rates and tight housing supplies.

The agency is unable to process loan applications and faces a daunting backlog once Washington returns to work.

Investments in software can speed up decision-making and help traditional lenders better compete with fintechs for creditworthy customers who want their loans quickly.

Now the third-longest shutdown in history, there are few signs the government will reopen anytime soon, and that's causing problems for lenders.

Third-quarter results from the Michigan Credit Union League show hundreds of members are joining CUs in the Great Lakes State each day.

Bank portfolios are chock full of loans to industries — think agriculture, tourism, real estate and energy — that could be particularly hard hit by warming temperatures. Some large banks are engaging in "scenario analysis" to mitigate the risk.

A smooth integration of Access National could allow John Asbury, CEO of Union Bankshares, to move a step closer to building a regional franchise that stretches from Baltimore to Hampton Roads.

The banking industry has long been critical of the government-sponsored enterprise, but the system could provide valuable banking services to large swaths of the country currently lacking access to them.

Bank technologists see the potential for AI in lending, money laundering detection, fraud and other areas. Regulators and bank executives insist on “explainability.”

A state-backed bank would not be financially feasible because capital requirements would be too high and it likely wouldn’t return profits to the state for at least 30 years, consultants concluded.

The branch closures will reduce overhead by an estimated $1.9 million a year.

HarborOne Bancorp — led by James Blake, one of our five community bankers to watch in 2019 — is a former credit union that recently made its first bank acquisition and has Boston and other markets in its sights.

The state has expanded the scope of ongoing legal actions against Avant and Marlette to include several securitization trusts and trustees.

Rushing to copy the Amazon experience, banks and fintechs are focused on simplifying financial services online. A Georgia Tech researcher says that approach is risky.

Greater Commercial Lending has targeted making loans in some unique sectors, including mining and renewable energy, after launching in January.

On Sept. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands, except for average loan amount.

Banks were reluctant to offer services to an industry that had a hazy legal status. That’s about to change.

Atlantic Equities’ John Heagerty cut his recommendation on JPMorgan Chase to neutral, saying the bank now “offers the least upside” to price targets among the major banks.