Commercial lending

AssetAvenue, a marketplace lender that specializes in commercial real estate finance, announced that it has hired Peter Coleman as its chief financial officer.

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Lenders have increasingly turned to niche businesses, such as equipment financing, to differentiate themselves from competitors. Some banks, like Bank of the Cascades in Oregon, are choosing complicated specialties like aircraft financing that may scare off potential rivals.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., reported a 20% jump in second-quarter profit, driven by strong consumer and commercial loan volume.

Student lending startup CommonBond has hired Morgan Edwards, a longtime Wall Street leveraged debt specialist, as its chief financial officer.

There is no reason a bank should be able to issue a loan and enjoy one set of rules while a marketplace lender, essentially issuing the same loan, must deal with a morass of conflicting state standards.

Bank groups hope rapid congressional action highlights the small-business lending program's political appeal, while nonbank lenders sense an opportunity.

Signs of optimism are growing for acquisition, development and construction loans as banks hone strategies in a market transformed by the crisis.

In order for the financial services industry to achieve its full potential in the digital age, Silicon Valley must work together with banks and lawmakers to build technology that can modernize banking infrastructure while addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges.

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A Senate bill passed late Thursday provides additional funding but it also requires enhanced reporting on lending and credit quality from SBA. The measure is headed to the House.

If the decision by the New York appeals court is upheld, banks and other lenders could have trouble finding buyers for credit card and other consumer loans.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y., reported lower second-quarter profit as the cost of technology improvements and lower securities yields offset loan growth.

One of the biggest U.S. mortgage lenders is looking to disrupt the disruptors in the market for peer-to-peer loans.

City National Bank in Los Angeles said Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 5% from the same period last year, driven by heavier demand for commercial loans.

F.N.B. in Pittsburgh reported higher second-quarter profit as it booked more commercial real estate and business loans.

The federal government's first broad inquiry into the fast-growing peer-to-peer loan industry raises several important questions, including whether banks will lobby for a clampdown on these lightly regulated competitors.

Citigroup Inc. is preparing to bundle more than $300 million of loans originated through Prosper Marketplace Inc. into securities as Wall Street helps fuel the online-lending industry, people familiar with the deal said.

Business First Bank will use state tax credits to renovate a historic building in downtown Baton Rouge, La., and move its headquarters to the facility.

Regional banks are reporting strong commercial loan growth as they have for so many quarters. Yet this time it looks like more of the growth is coming from existing clients, and there are also some early warnings about credit challenges.