Commercial lending

Farmer Mac has terminated President and CEO Timothy Buzby for violating company policies not related to its financial and business performance.

SunTrust sold an insurance financing unit that it deemed noncore, but it is on the lookout to buy more complementary businesses such as a CRE lender it acquired last year.

The Trepp CMBS delinquency rate is now 5.18%, a decrease of three basis points from the October level; declines were limited to the industrial, multifamily and office subindexes.

A New York banker who mastered the art of buying low and selling high, broke industry norms and learned from his mistakes in commercial real estate, John Kanas became a model regional bank builder. After stepping down as BankUnited's CEO last year, he wants to do "one more thing" before fully calling it quits.

The Michigan company, which lost more than $1.4 billion in the aftermath of the financial crisis, is trying to become more of a commercial lender. Its recent agreement to buy a deposit-rich franchise in California could help it get there.

Built Technologies successfully completed a capital raise, enabling the three-year company to expand its software offerings for both commercial and residential construction lenders.

Sterling Bancorp in New York is determined to turn Astoria Financial's largely residential operation into a commercial powerhouse. While investors are skeptical, CEO Jack Kopnisky has proven in the past that such an ambitious plan is doable.

Rather than pull up stakes and leave two low-income Mississippi towns at the mercy of payday lenders, Regions Bank donated the branches to a local credit union and kicked in another $500,000 for operating costs.

Capital Corps, led by Steven Sugarman, aims to provide financing to homeowners and small businesses that it believes are overlooked by banks. The firm features several former Banc of California executives.

Call-report data on commercial and industrial loans does not fully capture small-business lending by smaller institutions, a recent FDIC survey suggests.