Small business

Remember how commercial and industrial lending was a hot item in the first half of the year? Not anymore. Blame election-year blues and a regulatory crackdown on CRE, regional bank executives said. The good news is that the hand-wringing over energy lending has largely subsided and banks are taking advantage of new opportunities in specialty lending.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette has hired a veteran credit administrator to help expand its small-business lending.

West Town Bancorp in Illinois has revved up its government-backed lending to small businesses, making it a good example of how community banks can outhustle big lenders in the quest for new sources of fee income.

The state of Washington halts a plan to update its 15-year-old member business loan rule while the federal regulation undergoes a legal challenge from the Independent Community Bankers of America.

The $21 billion-asset bank said Monday that it had hired John Gannon as group manager of Small Business Administration lending and Clyde Thompson as credit officer.

The $2.2 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it redeemed $12.2 million, the remaining half of its SBLF shares, on Sept. 22 at a liquidation value of $1,000 each for $12.4 million.

Randolph Bancorp raised $57 million in a mutual-to-stock conversion and is using the proceeds to fund acquisitions — it closed its first-ever deal in July — and dramatically improve its digital capabilities.

Ten institutions are rising above national grievances to help startups – many minority owned – get up and running in a struggling mill town.

Carolina Premier Bank in Charlotte, N.C., has hired Don Jackson from Community One Bank in Asheboro, N.C., as director of Small Business Administration lending, a new position at the bank.

For large banks, the risks of partnering with marketplace lenders do not matter. But small community banks can't afford to partner with competitors angling to poach their customers.

For First Foundation, the government-backed program should help address a recent CRA exam's criticism that it has "poor penetration among businesses of different revenue sizes."

Fundation Group, a New York-based online small-business lender, announced Tuesday that it has secured a $100 million credit facility from Goldman Sachs.

The Ohio company is eager to rev up SBA lending in the Windy City now that it has closed on its purchase of FirstMerit. CEO Steve Steinour also credits his company's willingness to make big upfront community commitments for a seamless approval process.

United Community and Wells Fargo are among the banks building platforms to lend to senior-care facilities. Demographics suggest the business should grow significantly in coming years.

Online alternative financing can be an efficient source of capital for small businesses, but it can also be predatory, especially to unaware and inexperienced borrowers.

Small-business owners are struggling to understand the cost of loans sold by marketplace lenders. To remedy this, the industry must embrace a disclosure box that includes these five principles.

The marketplace lender OnDeck Capital is sticking with its lend-and-hold strategy even though the practice contributed to a second consecutive quarterly loss.

Banks need to improve their use of technology designed for small-business customers soon, or risk losing them.

Virgin Money Holdings, the bank backed by billionaire Richard Branson, postponed plans to start lending to small businesses as Britain faces a potential economic slowdown after voting to leave the European Union.

In an acknowledgement that many U.S. small businesses cannot qualify for a bank loan, a federal agency that assists minority-owned firms is now partnering with a pair of online lenders.