Regulatory staff from the OCC, FDIC and the Federal Reserve Board discussed a number of regulatory issues pertaining to commercial real estate during the American Bankers Association’s Real Estate Lending Conference last week in Orlando, Fla.

Bank credit is by far the "ideal or preferred" source of debt financing for small business executives.

Two-thirds of small business executives rely a great deal or a moderate amount on banks to grow and maintain their businesses, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

ABA, joined by the Independent Community Bankers of America, Community Development Bankers Association and National Bankers Association, today urged congressional leaders to maintain strong funding levels for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and its Bank Enterprise Award program in the remainder of fiscal year 2017 as well as FY 2018.

The Small Business Administration’s 7(a) loan program has been a strong success and deserves continued congressional support, according to a North Carolina banker testifying today on behalf of ABA before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight.

Reps. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) and Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today introduced ABA-advocated bills to help federal savings associations serve their customers more flexibly while retaining their unique thrift charter.

Total loan balances at FDIC-insured banks grew 6.8 percent between September 2015 and September 2016, with considerable growth occurring in commercial real estate, agricultural, and oil and gas lending portfolios, the agency said in the winter issue of its Supervisory Insights publication released today.

In a statement for the record in today’s House Appropriations Committee oversight hearing on Farm Credit Administration, ABA emphasized that the Farm Credit System has become too large, too unfocused and too reliant on taxpayer subsidies.

The Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is today announcing $19 million in funding for the fiscal year 2016 Bank Enterprise Awards, which encourage banks to increase their investments and loans in disadvantaged communities.

Problem loans have declined—but anxiety over credit quality is building.