Lending

Leaning on relationships and subject‑matter expertise can help create a roadmap to establish and scale a new lending specialty.

SPONSORED | Exception reports do more than support compliance. They can uncover workflow bottlenecks, staffing challenges, technology gaps, and hidden operational risks. Learn how community banks are using exception data as operational intelligence to improve efficiency, strengthen oversight, and enhance commercial lending performance.

Healthcare practice financing is no longer a niche play. It’s an opportunity to build deep relationships in a fast-growing, low-risk industry.

SPONSORED | The recently enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks a significant shift in how U.S. banks can use reciprocal deposits—an established but increasingly important tool for deposit growth and local lending.

Some financial institutions are offering small-dollar loans to employees of their business customers. Could this be a model to consider for community banks?

SPONSORED | Federal policy actions may create new opportunities for community banks to expand their role in mortgage lending through tailored regulation, stronger liquidity access, and partnerships that support housing affordability.

Nonprofit organizations face different funding challenges than for-profit businesses, but community banks can nurture these relationships in tried-and-tested fashion.

Community banks kicked off 2026 with robust lending growth, despite economic challenges like higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. Now, banks are leveraging regulatory shifts, disciplined strategies and strong relationships to drive lending while staying cautious amid the current landscape.

When a local school district was facing a budget shortfall just before school started, this community bank found a way through.