Credit quality

Virginia National will set aside up to $950,000 to cover losses after ReliaMax, a firm that issues surety bonds for student loans, was placed into liquidation.

The advisory vote came two weeks after Preferred Bank in Los Angeles disclosed a major loan default.

There are so many reasons — the credit cycle, the plight of small banks or competition from Amazon and foreign banks — that the head of JPMorgan could live to regret that statement.

Dark clouds may not yet be on the horizon, but industry executives are sending the message to investors that they know a turn in the credit cycle is coming, and they are planning accordingly.

Fulton Financial, Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania and Franklin Financial Services disclosed a total of $75 million in exposure to the commercial relationship.

Amid their recent policy victories and record earnings, big banks have also been forced to grapple with the possibility that commercial lending — the lifeblood for large regionals — may never fully come back.

A chunk of alternative loan customers are perfectly creditworthy, a report from the credit bureau shows.

The company has also hit its goal of having half of total loans tied to customers around Atlanta.

The post-recession boom in auto loans and credit cards for borrowers with marred credit histories has been winding down in recent months.

Preferred Bank's experience with an apartment developer is a reminder of how important strict underwriting terms will be as loan demand increases, rates rise and lenders try to outdo each other.