Merchant

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in an annual report to Congress that unpaid medical debt is plagued by inaccuracies, and that consumers are often faced with opaque pricing and uncertain insurance coverage.

A key gauge of activity that tracks startups most likely to create jobs declined in October, potentially signaling the start of a slowdown after the rapid increase in interest rates. It presents a red flag for community banks and credit unions that are major lenders to small businesses.

Since the end of the Small Business Administration's 2022 fiscal year, the average loan size in its flagship program has dropped more than six figures. The addition of three new nondepository lenders could further drive down this figure.

Small Business Administration lending is an arena where community banks and nonbanks compete favorably with some of the largest U.S. financial institutions. Here are the biggest SBA 7(a) lenders based on the value of approved loans.

Small business clients are important to financial institutions and expected to drive growth. But to achieve that, banks must teach them to be stronger consumers.

But high costs and any downturn in the economy could weigh on lenders and their commercial borrowers in coming months, economists caution.

Banks across the spectrum of size and location serve small businesses — but they all do it differently. At American Banker's Small Biz Banking 2023 conference in Nashville from November 13-15, banks of all sizes will come together to share ideas, learn from experts and hear from bankers in the field who are doing it best. 

Los Angeles-based Lendistry — in less than two years — became the largest Black-run 7(a) lender. Its CEO credits a concerted effort by the Small Business Administration to reach out to minority lenders and businesses, whose participation in the lending program is growing.

Singapore's third-largest lender is again banking on a blockbuster concert partnership to boost fee income, fresh on the heels of its success with Taylor Swift concert tickets.

The proposal fails to account for the needs of small and medium-size businesses, which depend on banking data connectivity to keep their operations running.