Private equity fundraising

The platforms, where bets are placed on everything from U.K. soccer teams to the price of bitcoin, are getting traction from investors and attention from regulators.

Bank and other lenders are said to have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into financing private-equity firms and their investment deals in recent years. Defaults have been low, but an economic slowdown could put these relationships to the test.

A centerpiece of her “economic patriotism” bill is to transform private equity firms, which she said will buy a company and bleed it dry before “walking away enriched even as the company succumbs.”

The British startup OakNorth sees U.S. community and regional banks as good prospects for its lending technology.

StreetShares seeks to tap into the loyalties of military veterans, bringing together borrowers and savers through an online platform.