Banks maintain lists of consulting firms that they trust to help troubled commercial borrowers to fix their businesses. These specialists say they're getting more calls, especially in areas such as multifamily and CRE, from business owners who need help.

Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, wants the agency to get involved in direct lending, a practice that was discontinued during the Clinton administration. Congress has not embraced the idea, to put it mildly.

Republicans on the House and Senate Small Business committees are accusing the SBA of being irresponsible in granting Funding Circle permission to participate in its flagship loan-guarantee program.

The decision to approve the fintech's application to make 7(a) loans came nearly a month after Funding Circle's U.K.-based CEO hinted it is considering a sale of its U.S. operations, alarming some members of Congress.

Some 54% of small businesses said in a recent survey that elevated rates had led to higher debt payments. And in a sign that loan demand remains soft, 37% reported delaying expansion plans or capital spending.

A blizzard of new rules and regulations strikes at the fundamental strengths of the U.S. banking system, and will have negative impacts on both American consumers and businesses.

Strategic alliances are a viable avenue leading to risk reduction and higher profits — provided that bankers can learn to embrace them.

Experts predict the number of small businesses turning to an employee-ownership model will accelerate in the coming years. The would mean opportunities for banks that advise on such transitions.

The agency plans to restrict access to a system that provides borrower tax returns to mortgage lenders beginning June 30. Left out of the loop, small-business lenders say getting credit to borrowers will become more difficult as a result.