Kevin Wack

The online small-business lender said it tightened its underwriting standards during the first quarter as credit quality worsened.

The surge in originations during the first quarter more than offset a decline in demand for new leases.

Instead the online lender will refer commercial prospects to two partner companies as it seeks to focus on its core personal lending business.

Measures of loan performance were generally better than expected at Ally, American Express, Synchrony and Sallie Mae. Their 1Q reports suggest that consumers remain able to meet their obligations despite a long run-up in debt.

The findings of a new survey suggest that banks risk becoming irrelevant unless they match the speedier processes that are a key selling point for online lenders.

The Federal Trade Commission accused the online lender of numerous violations in connection with its loan servicing practices. In one example, Avant allegedly informed customers that they could make payments by credit card or debit card but then refused to accept such payments.

More consumers were late in paying two major types of loans in the latest figures from the American Bankers Association, but it appears to be a relatively isolated problem.

The bank agreed to modify loans to struggling U.S. borrowers as part of a 2017 settlement. Instead, it’s receiving credit for financing new mortgages that likely would have been made anyway.

In a unanimous ruling, the court placed new limits on the ability of consumers to sue law firms that handle foreclosures on behalf of mortgage servicers.

Seven years after James Gutierrez left Oportun Financial and started a competitor, the acrimony sparked by the divorce is coming into public view.