Jon Prior

The global pandemic and stalled trade negotiations have discouraged farmers and ranchers from taking on more debt and made banks uneasy about extending more credit.

The CEOs of the credit card lenders Discover and Synchrony are urging Congress to come through with another round of government stimulus so that struggling households can continue paying their bills.

Mortgages taken out to fund business operations can now be modified in bankruptcy. That’s a relief to borrowers — particularly with business failures expected to increase as the pandemic drags on — but a possible headache for banks and investors that hold the loans.

More details have emerged about the damage the coronavirus pandemic is inflicting on the hospitality industry. One servicer alone has received 2,000 workout requests in the past month.

Weak demand for oil and gas, brought on by the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, has raised concerns of energy firms missing loan payments or even going bankrupt. Here’s how banks and regulators are trying to get ahead of potential problems.

Draw-downs on C&I credit more than quadrupled in a seven-day period ended March 25. Lenders may try to rein them in if the crisis drags out, but legal precedent isn’t on their side.

With seven in 10 rooms sitting empty amid the coronavirus outbreak, hotel and banking groups are urging policymakers to open up the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility.

Lenders have until the end of 2021 to phase out their use of the London interbank offered rate in setting interest rates, but ServisFirst Bancshares and its CEO Tom Broughton see little reason to wait when a replacement is already available.

PE firms have made investments in only seven banks in 2019, compared with 21 last year. Here's what's driving the slowdown.

Many business customers are putting off expansion because they can’t find enough workers to fill available jobs.

So far farm loans are holding up well, but bankers gathered at an industry conference this week said they are growing increasingly concerned that credit quality will weaken if the U.S. and China don’t reach a deal soon.

It hasn't stimulated loan demand in ways banks hoped it might, and some CEOs fear future rate cuts might cause companies to hunker down.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said at an investor conference that the Trump administration's plan for Fannie and Freddie would provide more opportunities for financial institutions. He also called for an end to the U.S.-China trade war and weighed in on the prospect of interest rates falling to zero.

President Trump is expected to sign legislation soon that would expand the number of farmers who could file under the more lenient Chapter 12. Ag lenders are worried because farm bankruptcies recently rose and the trade war with China could worsen.

Farmers were already taking on more debt to cover losses from falling crop prices. New tariffs and other retaliatory moves could hurt ag borrowers further and lead to loan losses and tighter underwriting.