Small business lending

Industry groups and lawmakers have joined bankers in insisting the agency develop a plan to resolve the paperwork problem before the partial government shutdown ends.

The shutdown is keeping the agency from approving about 300 loans per day, according to CBA President Richard Hunt.

The acquisition of VAR Technology Finance bolsters the bank's efforts to expand into new areas of lending.

Financial institutions of all sizes are offering low- or zero-rate loans, waiving fees and making other arrangements to aid federal workers — a practice that regulators officially blessed on Friday, the 21st day of the closing of many U.S. agencies.

The American Bankers Association has called for an end to the government shutdown, saying it has prevented customers from securing loans and threatens even more damage.