With the final piece of its regulatory puzzle in place, Newtek, a business development company and the nation's No. 3 SBA 7(a) lender, plans to complete its acquisition of National Bank of New York City in January.

Policymakers from across the ideological spectrum can work in tandem with banks to ensure every American has access to the financial tools they demand and deserve.

Feeling that your bank is truly there for you is the difference between a bank account and a banking relationship.

America's largest bank says it wants to make it easier for small businesses in communities of color to get loans. Under its program, applicants who previously may not have been approved are more likely to get an OK, and borrowers who received higher rates could qualify for a cheaper loan.

Small-business owners need all the savings they can get, but the proposed legislation will ultimately cost consumers and entrepreneurs.

A proposed rule would end a 40-year moratorium on participation in the Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) program by nondepository lenders. However, staffing constraints would limit the number of new licenses to just three at the start.

Ant Group's Singapore digital wholesale bank will start offering loans to small and medium-sized businesses, as the Chinese fintech giant extends its reach in the city-state.

The agreement, which still needs court approval, should help what remains of the online small-business lender as it moves through bankruptcy proceedings. After Kabbage emerged as a major Paycheck Protection Program lender, some of its key assets were sold to American Express.

One year after from President Biden's executive order on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, there has been no discernible progress.

Even legal dispensaries can be risky business partners, so Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union is working with Green Check Verified to make sure everything is above board. "Just because somebody has a license from the state, they can't show up with a duffel bag full of cash like Scarface and say let's do business together," Green Check CEO Kevin Hart said.

At American Banker's Small Biz Banking conference, bankers said they are throwing community events, working with local nonprofits and trying to turn lending decisions from "no" to "yes."

The industry must adapt quickly to the changing preferences of entrepreneurs and the innovation of nonbanks such as PayPal and Square, according to speakers at American Banker's Small Biz Banking Conference. Traditional players such as U.S. Bancorp and Comerica say they're making the necessary investments.

KServicing, a SoftBank-backed small-business loan servicer, filed for bankruptcy after the company, which holds old loans made by the online lender Kabbage, was weighed down by allegations of overly lax lending under the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program.

The new offering is the latest step in the Minneapolis bank's push to provide digital tools that will help build deeper relationships with commercial clients.

Small business banking can be BIG for the financial institutions willing to tap the opportunity in this fast-growing market.

A new report from American Banker's parent company finds that traditional banks are vulnerable to competition from online banks and fintechs such as PayPal and Square. It recommends that banks build deeper relationships with small-business owners by adding more products to their traditional suite of offerings.

The challenger banks Mercury and Nerve are offering networking events, tailored accounts, credit cards and more to attract a once neglected market.

South End Capital, a division of Stearns Bank in Minnesota, is touting a nationwide Small Business Administration small-dollar loan product that can provide funding within days, perhaps hours. It's one of several recent small-dollar SBA lending initiatives now being offered by banks.

Bank of America says August was its best month ever for Small Business Administration lending and that it's optimistic a new program supporting women and minority commercial real estate borrowers could boost production even more.

We can't afford to miss this opportunity to build capacity in community development financial institutions.