Small business

How Eastern Bank pulled off something few community banks have: launching a digital lending product that the 197-year-old mutual dreamed up in its innovation lab.

At least three community banks have hired lenders who once worked at banks bought by BB&T. The question is whether those lenders can coax their clients to also make a switch.

Radius Bank in Boston has recruited a team to lead a national push into Small Business Administration lending. Among the new hires is Diane Gallion, a former executive at The Bancorp in Delaware, who will be national director of government-guaranteed lending at Radius.

CenterState in Florida and Union Savings in Connecticut are adding specialists to their retail locations at a time when many other banks are cutting back or have been relying heavily on universal bankers.

During the ascension of marketplace lending, banks responded to the competitive threat in several different ways. Now some banks are better positioned than others to take advantage of the online sector's recent woes.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, is significantly raising the ante in philanthropic and community development investments connected to its planned acquisition of FirstMerit.

HomeStreet in Seattle has raised $65 million from issuing senior debt. The $4.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that the proceeds from the offering with support growth and other general corporate purposes.

Banks and nonbanks should accept that more fintech regulation is inevitable, but how far regulators go will depend in part on how well companies demonstrate they are managing risk.

Severn Bancorp in Annapolis, Md., has partially redeemed outstanding shares tied to the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

California Bank of Commerce in Lafayette has raised $9 million to help it exit the Small Business Lending Fund.