Small business

Traditional financial institutions still have an advantage over challenger banks when it comes to building relationships with small merchants, despite scandals that have befallen megabanks.

The pledge comes as Fifth Third, which had previously committed $30 billion to community development, looks to close on its acquisition of MB Financial in Chicago.

Bank Novo isn't a business lender (lots of firms already do that) or an account provider (it has a bank partner for that). Instead, it provides small businesses tools to track and analyze their banking activities.

The agency found that banks with less than $10 billion in assets were more prone than larger lenders to go beyond using standard criteria in evaluating borrowers.

Readers parse JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's latest public comments, debate a California small-business lending bill, weigh the impact of open banking and more.

Few small businesses in Puerto Rico applied for credit to finance recovery from hurricane damage. The reasons are instructive for financial institutions’ response to disaster recovery, the New York Fed says.

The legislation would help small-business owners better evaluate financing options by requiring updated disclosures.

The legislation, which creates new disclosure standards for financing costs, could hamstring commercial lenders that offer revolving credit facilities.

By improving STP processes for small business, these players will greatly expand their reach of serviceable suppliers, resulting in higher revenues and better service for the clients they serve, writes Blair Jeffrey, COO of Noventis.

While there are automated reconciliation and straight-through processing (STP) solutions for large businesses, small businesses, in particular, continue to be underserved due to their smaller and less frequent invoices, contends Blair Jeffery, COO of Noventis.