Small Business Banking

Finding the right solution for small business banking can be a difficult process. Whether you’re an institution who serves small businesses or a small business owner yourself, you deserve the best possible experience. When it comes to delivering an outstanding experience, personalization is key. By tailoring services to meet the unique needs of each small business owner, financial institutions can foster strong and lasting relationships.

As if simplifying compliance in the financial sector wasn’t already a challenge, recent news surrounding Dodd-Frank 1071 continues to complicate matters and raise questions.

For many financial institutions (FIs) in the United States, small businesses represent a vital market that hasn’t yet been fully banked. Depending on what these FIs do next, this could be viewed as an occasion for growth, or a lost opportunity. Small business in the U.S. has continued to grow since the COVID-19 pandemic. Today there are over 33 million small businesses in the market, who represent $115 billion in revenue. With today’s advanced technology, financial institutions can tap into the unmet potential of small business banking. To do so, they must strike the right balance between a traditional high-touch strategy and an innovative high-tech approach.

Time for Innovation: Delivering High-Tech to Small BusinessesTraditionally, small business banking has been approached with a high-touch process. However, it’s no longer enough to rely only on in-branch experiences and services when it comes to small business banking clients.

Grasshopper, a digital bank, has partnered with nCino to improve its commercial and SBA lending businesses. nCino's cloud-based banking platform will help Grasshopper to improve its internal efficiency, speed to market, and customer experience.

South African commercial property specialty lender selects nCino’s cloud banking platform to grow business and improve access to finance for property entrepreneurs in affordable housing.

Dodd-Frank 1071’s final rule, issued on March 30th, 2023, one day before the critical amendment to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) was anticipated to be finalized, is a game-changer for small business lenders.The rule mandates that financial institutions report certain lending data points for small business lending, including demographic data on women-owned, minority-owned and LGBTQI+-owned small businesses. This data will be used by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to enforce fair lending laws and to identify community needs and access to credit. The data collected under the rule will also be used to develop new programs and initiatives to support small businesses.

When a financial institution (FI) is required to collect and report the required data is dependent upon the number of small business loans originated during 2022 and 2023. The earliest date an FI is required to begin collecting data is October, 1, 2024 (2,500 originations) with time extensions to April 1, 2025 (100 or 500 to 2,500 originations) or January 1, 2026 (at least 100 originations), depending on circumstances.

The rule is a complex one, and FIs will need to take steps to comply with it. As your FI prepares to conform to the new requirements, here are some actions to consider.