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.

Small-business owners who can't get loans from traditional sources need alternative ways to access capital.

The online-only bank's new checking account is the first release of its Do More Business line of products for small-business owners.

BayFirst Financial in Florida is using gross — not net — income to calculate how much credit smaller enterprises can be granted. Company officials say the Paycheck Protection Program used that approach with great success, but others contend the practice is risky for private-sector lenders.

As the industry manages high turnover, more companies are expressing dissatisfaction. Among firms that switch to a new bank, the previous bank's lack of knowledge about their business is an increasingly common reason, according to a recent survey.

The digital commercial bank has been fleshing out its business lines and technology over the past year. Its new capital raise will help further those efforts.

Flush with capital and touting its biggest loan pipeline ever, the nation’s No. 1 Small Business Administration 7(a) lender is laying plans to hire dozens of bankers away from competitors. It’s one of several companies seeking to expand at a time when others are likely to pull back on commercial lending.

The bank’s Business Essentials platform offers digital accounting management to smaller commercial clients. It comes at a time when banks are hunting for sources of fee income.

The challenger bank for small-business owners is making it easier for its customers to give their accountants access to their transactions and statements.

The U.S. retail arm of Bank of Montreal plans to reduce the charge from $36 to $15, following the approach taken by M&T Bank and Huntington Bancshares.

Firms owned by people of color have suffered more over the last two years than those owned by whites, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Banks. Asian American-owned firms reported the biggest increase in financial challenges.

The purchase of Farmers & Stockmens Bank would create a bigger and more experienced Small Business Administration lending team to help the Kansas bank capitalize on a predicted spike in demand motivated by inflation and the prospect of a recession.

Regulatory pressure and business exigencies have spurred foreign banks to draw down their presences in the United States in recent years. But Spanish bank Santander has been going the other way, expanding its U.S. business presence.

Young community banks are using a range of options for digital banking platforms.

Codat, a software startup that connects small businesses with financial institutions, raised $100 million in an equity funding round led by JPMorgan Chase’s growth-equity arm.

Edward Shin, the onetime CEO of Noah Bank in Pennsylvania, was found guilty of charges related to loans the bank made to businesses in which he held a stake.