Commercial lending

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati reported a decline in second-quarter profit, as the costs to close branches offset loan growth.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., showed strong consumer loan growth in the second quarter but fell slightly short of analysts' quarterly estimates as its margins declined.

Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City reported a second-quarter loss after selling the remainder of its portfolio of collateralized debt obligations.

What asset threshold? Community banks may not be required by law to conduct stress tests, but about one in three have been asked by their examiners to do so, according to a recent survey of banks.

Signature Bank in New York hired a BankUnited executive and four salesmen and underwriters for its new direct commercial-vehicle financing business.

Marlette Funding is set to announce Friday that it has raised $75 million from investors including a fund affiliated with the Invus Group, a private-equity firm, and Navient Corp. The money will mainly be used to keep a portion of the loans Marlette originates through its website, MyBestEgg.com.

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.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y. has hired Peggy Yankovich to lead the commercial card and payments business of its treasury management group. Yankovich had been the global head of corporate cards, global payments & cash management at HSBC.

Upstart, a marketplace lender founded by ex-Google employees, has more than doubled its funding after receiving an investment from a group led by activist hedge-fund investor Dan Loeb. The company plans to use the funds to improve its underwriting analytics.

The Treasury Department launched an inquiry into the marketplace lending industry on Thursday, seeking information on its business models, customers and whether such firms should be forced to keep some "skin in the game."

From Beijing to Paris to Dublin, peer-to-peer lending is blossoming. A quick look at the industry in various parts of the globe.

The combination of swelling deposits and weak loan growth continues to be a tough problem for regional banks. U.S. Bancorp's Richard Davis thinks higher loan growth is just around the corner to solve the problem, but PNC's Bill Demchak fears deposits could flee faster than lending will ramp up.

ZestFinance in Los Angeles has introduced a loan product for subprime borrowers whose credit scores nearly qualify as prime.

Pave, a marketplace lender, has partnered with Cross River Bank of Teaneck, N.J., to help it expand its online, short-term loan product nationwide.

RealtyMogul.com, a Los Angeles-based marketplace lending platform, announced a new $35 million round in venture capital funding Tuesday.

Signature Bank in New York has partnered with Financial Software Solutions to expand the products and services that it offers bankruptcy trustees.

Signature Bank in New York has formed a subsidiary to specialize in municipal finance and hired three executives for the division.

CommonBond Chief Executive David Klein discusses the company's strategy to cross-sell financial products to the firm's student loan borrowers, many of whom are young and affluent.

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.

A new crop of P-to-P loan platforms is focusing on commercial real estate loans that get ignored by banks.