With hurricane season officially upon us, the U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the launch of a new quick lending program aimed at helping small business owners recover from disasters.   The SBA’s Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program, authorized by the federal government last fall, is now ready to receive applications. The new lending initiative is ...

In an interesting twist on its normal business operations, banking software provider nCino has purchased a web-based program from one of its clients – instead of the other way around.   The client is SunTrust Bank, and the program is designed to help nCino employees become more confident about their own financial planning.   Wilmington-based nCino is im ...

The age demographic that now represents the largest percentage of the workforce doesn’t feel confident about its saving and investing habits. That’s the conclusion of PNC Investments’ Millennials & Investing Survey.   Respondents, who were ages 21 to 35 with investable assets of $5,000 or more or those who had a qualified retirement plan and at ...

Just how will the much-trumpeted recent changes to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act affect local financial institutions?   Signed into law by President Donald Trump in late May, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act rolls back regulations on most banks – regulations put in place in response to the ...

Live Oak Bank is geared up and ready to begin lending in its newest industry: franchise restaurants. In an announcement Tuesday, the bank said that this new lending team, led by general manager Lew Woodbury, will consider loans to franchise operations from quick service and fast-casual to full-service dining, from small-scale franchisees to owners of large networks. &ld ...

Aquesta Bank Holdings announced that its earnings for the first quarter showed a 53 percent jump from those of the same quarter in 2017. In an announcement April 24, the Cornelius, North Carolina-based company stated that net income for Q1 of 2018 was $702,000 - $.18 per share – compared with net earnings of $460,000 - $.11 per share – a year ago.   &ldq ...

It might come as a surprise, but one of the hottest topics at the annual convention of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) was student loan debt.   There are a couple of reasons for that, said Richard Cook, a board-certified bankruptcy attorney and owner of Cape Fear Debt Relief in Wilmington. One reason: student loan debt is one of two ...

Spence Broadhurst, president of the Eastern North Carolina Region for First National Bank, and former Wilmington mayor, was recently appointed to the N.C. Banking Commission by Gov. Roy Cooper, according to a news release. He will serve on the commission as a Practical Banker.   Broadhurst has served on the N.C. A&T State University Board of Trustees, the Wilmin ...

Changes are here or on the way to Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage offices in Oak Island, Hampstead and Carolina Beach. The company is demolishing its offices in Oak Island and Hampstead, with a new 2,650-square-foot building (pictured below) going up in the Brunswick County beach town of Oak Island and a 12,700-square-foot building replacing thre ...

As Corning Credit Union broke ground Wednesday morning on its new regional headquarters in Wilmington, a CCU spokeswoman also confirmed that the facility is not the credit union’s only evidence of growth in the market. “We’re working on a service center located in Hampstead,” Stephanie Carl said Wednesday, explaining that the center represents a ...