Small business lending

Better access to credit, an improving revenue picture and promises of regulatory relief are bolstering the confidence of small-business owners.

The public-private effort, aimed at expansion-minded tech and other companies with proven track records, would be backed by the country’s six largest banks, insurance companies and regional lenders.

The Innovative Lending Platform Association and the Coalition for Responsible Business Finance announced Monday that they are joining forces.

Banks are partnering with tech companies to win back some of the small-business customers that the industry lost to fintechs.

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After recording a $35.9 million quarterly loss, the online small-business lender said that it plans to reduce its annual expenses by $20 million, cut 11% of its staff and more than double its loan-loss provision from a year earlier.

Bond Street targets small businesses that might be able to qualify for a bank loan but are looking for a faster and easier approval process.

Seacoast Commerce Banc Holdings in San Diego will keep more of its small-business loans on its balance sheet in response to rapidly changing economic and political conditions.

The Toronto company will add as many as 75 small-business bankers in several of its key U.S. markets.

Financial firms are going on offense in Washington, pressing a policy agenda that would have been unimaginable just a few months ago. Some proposals, like reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have been floated before while others began to gain traction after Republicans swept the November elections. Here's a look at some of the industry's requests.