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• Small Lenders Ride US Mortgage Wave

  

  Scores of independent mortgage lenders and community banks are winning business from banks such as Citigroup or Bank of America that have retrenched after the financial crisis.

• ANALYSIS-Small lenders ride US mortgage wave as big banks cut back

  Feb 4- Guaranteed Rate, Inc, a home loan company, opened shop in 2000 in Chicago with a single office. Most of that growth has come in the last two years and Chief Executive Victor Ciardelli said in an interview he is not planning to slow down.

• EXCLUSIVE-Venezuela seeks $4 bln China loan, $2 bln Chevron credit-sources

  *Source says China eyes tougher $4 bln loan terms. CARACAS, Feb 1- Venezuela's government and state oil company PDVSA are in urgent talks over a long-expected $6 billion in loans from China and U.S. energy giant Chevron that would help relieve the nation's strained finances, sources close to the discussions said.

• LDK Solar shares rise on financing

  NEW YORK-- Shares of LDK Solar Co. rose Thursday on news that China Development Bank Corp. agreed to loan it nearly $70 million. THE SHARES: LDK shares rose 10 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $1.64 in heavy afternoon trading, after peaking at $1.70 earlier in the day. In the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between 71 cents and $6.92.

• Teacher retirement fund plans Big River Steel buy

  LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-- The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System hopes to invest $60 million in the $1 billion Big River Steel LLC mill planned for Osceola, officials announced Wednesday. The investment would be contingent on the Legislature's approval of a $125 million loan to help finance the mill project, which also would have to clear regulatory hurdles.

• UPDATE 1-Treasury needs exit plan for Ally Financial-watchdog

  *Ally, the former GMAC, owes taxpayers $14.6 billion. Treasury needs to develop a concrete plan for exiting its 74 percent stake in auto financing company Ally Financial Inc, the second-largest remaining recipient of federal bailout dollars, an internal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.

• Saudi's Kingdom Holding in Islamic financing push

  DUBAI, Jan 30- Kingdom Holding Co, the international investment firm of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has formed a sharia board of prominent scholars in order to raise more of its funding through Islamic finance. Elgari serves on several sharia boards including the Islamic arms of HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.

• ANALYSIS-Dell LBO talks reveal other leverage options

  NEW YORK, Jan 29- A bid to take Dell Inc private by buyout firm Silver Lake and its partners underscores the financing market's willingness to lend up to $15 billion to the world's No.3 PC maker-- money that could be used to buy back shares and pay dividends even if the deal doesn't come together.

• BancorpSouth profit rises 28 percent in quarter

  TUPELO, Miss.-- BancorpSouth Inc. says profit in 2012' s fourth quarter rose 28 percent from the same three months of 2011, as mortgage fees remained high and the bank set aside less money for future loan losses. BancorpSouth said it set aside $6 million to cover future bad loans, compared to $19.3 million in the same three months of 2011..

• Court approves $844M Kodak bankruptcy financing

  ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- Eastman Kodak Co. said Wednesday that it has received court approval to borrow up to $844 million to finance the rest of its restructuring. The financing agreement, along with the recently approved sale and licensing of its digital imaging patents, sets the stage for Kodak to emerge as a "profitable and sustainable company," said CEO Antonio Perez.

• UPDATE 1-Microsoft in talks to invest up to $3 bln in Dell -CNBC

  *Microsoft may provide up to $3 bln in mezzanine financing- CNBC. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 22- Microsoft Corp is in discussions to invest between $1 billion and $3 billion of mezzanine financing in a buyout of Dell Inc, CNBC cited unidentified sources as saying on Tuesday. Microsoft and Dell both declined to comment on the CNBC report.

• Microsoft in talks to invest up to $3 bln in Dell buyout -CNBC

  SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 22- Microsoft Corp is in discussions to invest between $1 billion and $3 billion in a buyout of Dell Inc, CNBC cited unidentified sources as saying on Tuesday. The world's largest software company will provide the capital in the form of mezzanine financing, the business TV outlet reported, a hybrid of debt and equity.

• UPDATE 2-SurveyMonkey's funding highlights fading allure of IPOs

  *SurveyMonkey raising $800 mln in equity and debt financing. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17- Online company SurveyMonkey said it aims to raise $800 million in a late-stage venture capital financing, one of the largest such deals in the Internet sector that underscores how many Silicon Valley firms are no longer in a rush to go public.

• Online company SurveyMonkey wins $800 million recapitalization

  SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17- Online survey company SurveyMonkey has started an $800 million recapitalization that will allow it to cash out early shareholders and investors, the company said on Thursday. SurveyMonkey's financing, first reported by the AllThingsD web site, comprises a $444 million equity component plus a $350 million debt financing.

• Syria, Iran agree $1 bln credit facility - Syrian TV

  BEIRUT, Jan 16- Syria and Iran have agreed a $1 billion credit facility between Commercial Bank of Syria and Export Development Bank of Iran, Syrian state television reported on Wednesday. It also said the two countries had reached agreements on energy transmission and electricity equipment.

• Chinese auto dealer group sees big jumps in consumer financing

  DETROIT, Jan 15- Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd, a large Chinese auto dealership group, said consumer financing is fast gaining acceptance in China, which will help boost the market as well as encourage younger buyers to buy more expensive cars. Currently only one fifth of car buyers use financing at Zhongsheng's 160 dealerships, with the rest paying cash.

• UPDATE 2-Dell buyout talks advance, Silver Lake lines up banks-sources

  *Silver Lake Partners tapped major banks for financing- sources. NEW YORK/ SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 15- Talks to take Dell Inc private are at an advanced stage with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, propelling shares of the No. 3 computer maker 7 percent higher.

• UPDATE 1-Silver Lake in advanced Dell buyout talks- sources

  *Silver Lake Partners tapped major banks for financing- sources. NEW YORK/ SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 15- Talks to take No. 3 computer maker Dell Inc private are in an advanced stage with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

• UPDATE 1-Liberty spinoff Starz up 10 pct in first day of trading

  *Starz has $1.1 bln debt, access to $450 mln more. *Starz is potential acquisition target- analyst. Starz currently has about $1.1 billion of debt and access to a $450 million bank credit facility, the company said in a statement late on Friday.

• PROFILE-When Goldman's new CFO talks, insiders say they listen

  *Goldman veteran has ability to work across bank-insiders. Jan 14- In 2004, Harvey Schwartz, who was then head of the financing business at Goldman Sachs Group Inc's investment bank, came up with a new way for the bank to make money from a seemingly mundane activity: helping companies buy back their shares.