Small business

Lendio, an online lending marketplace for small business, raised $20.5 million of equity capital in a recently completed funding round.

Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Md., is looking to raise funds to exit the Small Business Lending Fund.

Huntington had admired the finance firm for decades, but it was the Ohio company's Midwestern ties that helped it snag the unit from other suitors.

A more efficient, customer-friendly process for small-dollar commercial loan requests is a matter of competitive necessity for most community banks.

OnDeck Capital, the online lender whose initial public offering raised eyebrows in December, posted a net loss of $4.3 million for the fourth quarter in its first report as a public company.

With the economy recovering, Chris Hurn saw an opportunity to start another company focused on Small Business Administration 504 loans — his longtime specialty — and spread the word to business owners about the benefits of owning their facilities.

Racial disparity in small-business loans remains glaring, despite some improvement. Lenders' unfamiliarity with African-American communities is part of the problem, but so is the need for financial education among prospective borrowers.

Loan demand, which bankers say remained weak well after the recession, is picking up, and the industry is adjusting business models to meet it. But banks may want to act fast.

A recent research paper found that community banks' assets, along with market share in most types of commercial lending, have fallen since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed. The report is giving advocates of smaller institutions more data to rally around.

Gary Patton Hall Jr. hid underperforming and at-risk loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the bank's loan committee, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in its indictment Thursday.

Elected officials in Santa Fe and Seattle are considering plans to form municipal banks to promote affordable housing and reach out to the underbanked. Bankers are wary since such institutions could present competition.

ApplePie Capital, a new marketplace lender that specializes in lending to franchises, has officially opened for business.

Big banks and institutional investors picked up the pace of loan approvals for small businesses in January, while small banks and alternative lenders continued to see their approval rates decline, according to a monthly lending index.

Community Financial Corp. in Waldorf, Md., raised $23 million from a debt offering.

Alternative finance marketplace Lending Club has entered into an agreement with the U.S. branch of Alibaba to offer financing to American businesses to buy parts from Chinese manufacturers through the Alibaba marketplace.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has received regulatory approval to form a broker-dealer subsidiary that will expand its merchant banking capabilities.

Small business alternative lender Biz2Credit has added Fortis Payments to its roster of payment partners.

Marketplace lenders are seizing on current investor enthusiasm after the December public listing of LendingClub. SoFi and Funding Circle have set new origination targets, and new capital markets deals may help replace bank credit lines for Blue Elephant Capital Management and perhaps others.

Peer-to-peer and institution-to-small business loan marketplace Funding Circle launched a new fractional loan marketplace today, the San Francisco company announced.

Like General Motors extending credit to car dealers, Google will use Lending Club to finance resellers, service providers, and consultants in its supply chain while putting to work a portion of the tech giant's cash war chest.