Treasury laid off all of its Community Development Financial Institution Fund staff on Friday, with the reduction in force notices saying that the department plans on abolishing the fund.

A former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. argues that community banking in the U.S. is being slowly strangled by regulations that place heavier burdens on small banks than on giant ones.

A number of banks experienced major increases in 7(a) lending activity during SBA's recently completed fiscal year, as program-wide loan volume topped $37 billion for the first time.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr is warning small banks about the growing threat from fraudsters' use of AI-generated deepfakes. But he also says AI may be able to help community banks fight fraud more effectively.

In a new survey, 28.4% of community banks said that regulation represented an "extremely important" risk, down from 44.1% last year.

The Fairmont, West Virginia, bank is taking a $7.6 million hit to rid itself of $73 million in long-duration, low-yielding securities, though the sale of its payments subsidiary the week before cushions the blow.

The fund is designed to generate a financial return, as well as Community Reinvestment Act credit, for TD. Its inaugural investment is in a mixed-use project that will include 49 affordable housing units.

In a break from a 20-year history marked by losses and scandal, California International Bank in Westminster is on pace for its biggest-ever profit, its CEO says.

Though small banks have a durable customer base in the small-business sector, the decades-long consolidation trend will likely speed up, according to a new report from Morningstar DBRS.

BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg shuttered a national small-dollar 7(a) loan program in August. Now the $2.4 billion institution, which has been one of the nation's most active SBA lenders over the past decade, is making a clean break from the business.

The Olympia, Washington-based acquirer expects the all-stock acquisition of Kitsap Bank's holding company to close in the first quarter of 2026.

The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, community bank agreed to acquire 1st Colonial Bancorp in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, in a $101 million deal that would help deepen its presence in greater Philadelphia.

The $18.6 billion-asset Muncie, Indiana-based company agreed to pay $241 million in stock to acquire First Savings Financial Group and expand into the Southern end of the Hoosier state.

The Florida community bank, which raised $46 million earlier this summer, is moving ahead with its efforts to expand its national solar and renewable energy line of business.

Flatirons Bank in Boulder, Colorado, has filed suit against a Virginia-based trust company for allegedly attempting to block its entry into the multibillion-dollar qualified settlement fund business.

The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee expects the economy to grow, albeit at a slower pace than it previously anticipated. The group pointed to stubbornly high inflation and a weakening job market.

QNB's proposed $41 million deal to acquire The Victory Bancorp in Limerick, Pennsylvania, is set to create a community bank with $2.4 billion of assets.

A Small Business Administration policy enacted during the second Trump administration blocks not only people who are in the country illegally, but also legal temporary residents and even some U.S. citizens, from accessing government-guaranteed loans.

Lendistry, one of the nation's fastest-growing SBA 7(a) lenders, is getting a $25 million infusion from TD's community development arm.

Community Financial in Syracuse has made its biggest investment ever in an outside company, taking a $37.4 million equity stake in an insurance provider that focuses on the rental housing market.