Commercial lending

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., rode recent acquisitions to a record profit in the third quarter.

Its loan-loss provision increased largely due to energy-related loans, but Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., still reported higher third-quarter profits. Lower expenses and an increase in lending for healthcare, equipment finance and mortgages were the main reasons.

First Tennessee Bank in Memphis has recruited a quartet of executives for its expanding specialty banking lines that serve the franchising, healthcare, music, and transportation industries.

Remember how commercial and industrial lending was a hot item in the first half of the year? Not anymore. Blame election-year blues and a regulatory crackdown on CRE, regional bank executives said. The good news is that the hand-wringing over energy lending has largely subsided and banks are taking advantage of new opportunities in specialty lending.

The investment bank will take "a very deliberate and methodical approach" to building its online lending platform, Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz told investors Tuesday, implicitly drawing a contrast to once-highflying startups like Lending Club and Propser.

Attendees at this year's American Bankers Association conference are fixated on the election, fintech competition and banking's changing landscape. While optimistic, many are still wondering where their industry is headed.

The Dallas company said Tuesday that it earned $149 million the third quarter, an increase of nearly 10% over the same period last year and up 150% from this year's first quarter, when plunging oil and gas prices forced it to sharply boost reserves on loans to energy firms.

Such a charter comes with a bevy of legal and policy questions to resolve, including whether parent companies of firms that obtain a fintech charter would have to subject themselves to oversight by the Federal Reserve Board. State regulators, meanwhile, fear a new charter could erode their ability to regulate firms within their jurisdictions.

The California company will report a quarterly loss after credit issues surfaced in its technology lending division. Opus had expressed an interest earlier this year to expand the business after making a key hire.

Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, said third-quarter profit rose 7.3%, beating analysts’ estimates, as revenue from fixed-income trading was better than predicted and expenses fell.

Community banks need profit and diversification opportunities, while marketplace lenders may find mergers to be the easiest route into the banking system.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette has hired a veteran credit administrator to help expand its small-business lending.

Goldman Sachs' newly launched consumer lending website is aimed at some of the very same customers that big banks and marketplace lenders covet, yet there are plenty of questions about its business plan, its ability to manage credit risk and the prospects of online lenders in general.

West Town Bancorp in Illinois has revved up its government-backed lending to small businesses, making it a good example of how community banks can outhustle big lenders in the quest for new sources of fee income.

It's official: Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment banking titan, now offers consumer loans.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., has introduced an online consumer lending product that it uses technology developed by Avant.

Thomas Depping, who quit banking out of frustration with regulators five years ago, says Warburg Pincus' deep pockets will help him make Ascentium Capital a household name among small-business borrowers.

It's been a tough year for farmers, and lenders are looking for ways to help those borrowers offset sagging income.

Earnings season is set to begin with a bang Oct. 14 when four of the six largest banking companies report. The next few weeks will likely bring a steady stream of lackluster commercial lending results, good news on energy and mortgage books and (thanks, Wells Fargo) a whole lot of scrutiny of cross-selling practices.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., has formed a corporate lending office and hired Richard Cabrera to oversee it.