Commercial lending

The third quarter ends in two weeks, and top executives at Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and two regional banks are raising concerns about cost pressures, impediments to revenue growth and heightened lending risks.

A Federal Reserve decision is expected soon on M&T's long-delayed application to buy Hudson City Bancorp. M&T would still get strategic benefits it sought, but Hudson City has shrunk and become less profitable since it agreed to sell three years ago, and the cost of the deal has risen.

CircleBack Lending, a Boca Raton, Fla., marketplace lender, has completed a $17.4 million round of equity financing.

A small Internet-focused bank plans to offer Prosper Marketplace's personal loans directly to its own customers through the bank's website. Prosper could use it as a template for deals with other banks.

Brayden McCarthy and Jared Hecht of Fundera argue that the Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights, a self-regulatory document written by online small-business lenders, should serve as a template for future government regulation of the sector.

PeerIQ, which provides data to firms that invest in marketplace loans, has raised $2.5 million in early-stage financing.

Loan-to-value ratios in commercial real estate lending have returned to their levels from the bubble days, Moody's says. Loss-rates look good for now, but trouble could be coming.

Funding Circle has formed a partnership with H&R Block to provide loans to the tax preparation firm’s small-business customers.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

Bank of Montreal, Canada's fourth-largest lender, has agreed to buy General Electric's transportation finance business in the U.S. and Canada.

Arthur Levitt, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001, will become an adviser to the marketplace lender Social Finance.

Orchard Platform, which provides services to institutional investors in the marketplace lending industry, has raised $30 million in additional funding.

Banks are going to keep cranking out loans at a brisk pace for the foreseeable future, according to the heads of three Chicago-area banks. That could spell trouble if the competition leads to reckless credit decisions.

What does a small bank do when a much larger bank encroaches on its home turf?

Brayden McCarthy of Fundera contends that unfair practices are commonplace in the online lending industry, and that self-regulation is needed to protect small-business borrowers.

The marketplace lender CommonBond announced that it has raised $35 million, which it plans to use to expand its operations across the country.

The San Francisco company hopes to lower its costs by driving out human intervention as much as possible. To get there, it has made the counterintuitive decision to locate its operations staff in one of the country’s most expensive cities.

Lead Bank in Kansas City, Mo., is poised to open a special branch designed for millennial entrepreneurs. Not only can these commercial customers bank in the techie, garage-like space, but they can actually work there, too.

Comerica has named Peter Sefzik market president for Texas, effective immediately. Sefzik succeeded Patrick Faubion, who was promoted to executive vice president of Comerica's Business Bank in July.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., has named Rick Pullum its Orlando, Fla., market president.