Small business

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati said Thursday that it will spend $27.5 billion over the next five years to provide loans and other financial services to underserved communities in its region.

Inspired by marketplace lenders, Live Oak Bancshares created a largely digital product that can make a credit decision on a small-business loan within 48 hours. The product, which combines human decision-making and automated credit scoring, could go national as early as next year.

Stephen Steinour, chief executive of Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, has pursued a risky strategy of taking losses in exchange for adding new customers, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., has received federal regulatory approval to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta has committed $50 million to a credit facility for the online small-business lender Credibly.

Atlantic Capital Bancshares in Atlanta has formed a lending division to focus on the emerging film and entertainment industry in Georgia.

OnDeck Capital, an online small-business lender in New York, has added a former E-Trade Financial executive to its board, as another director plans to leave.

The marijuana industry is still hampered by its own banking crisis, but the rigidity of federal laws is not stopping all advances in financial services for the sector.

Univest believes its subscription-based pricing model may have solved a persistent fee conundrum – charging small-business customers for various services without irking them.

Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is the latest bank to partner with an online lender, announcing an agreement Thursday to refer certain small-business customers to OnDeck Capital.

BlueVine, a Palo Alto, Calif., firm that is aiming to modernize the invoice-financing business, announced a new fundraising round on Wednesday.

The Current Expected Loss Credit model will help to quantify bankers' intuition and can be built with readily available data.

A number of community banks have gotten into government-backed small-business lending by buying firms or poaching talent. While the business seems lucrative now, there are concerns that too many banks may be jumping into the pool.

Fundation Group, an online small-business lender, has hired an industry veteran as its first chief operating officer.

Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C., one of the largest 7(a) program lenders in the U.S. last year, has promoted Greg Thompson to chief operating officer.

A former M&T Bank executive was sentenced to 39 months prison time for leading a fraudulent scheme involving about $5.3 million in small-business loans.

Officials who assess how well banks lend and invest in their communities seem out of sync with the experiences of Main Street.

Financial institutions considering whether to bank marijuana-related businesses often receive inaccurate information about the emerging industry. Here are five common myths.

The $933-million asset institution said in a press release Tuesday that the technology, provided by Louisville-based R.C. Giltner Services, will enable consumer and small-business customers to complete the loan application process in minutes.