The banking industry has been roundly criticized for reducing lending to small business. And we've often suggested that banks could really boost their PR efforts by focusing more on this segment. More banks are coming around to this, a good idea especially if the economy continues to improve. Already, there are signs that small businesses are recovering, and lending to such business has picked up.

Bloomberg reports that Citigroup (NYSE: C) will hire at least 200 more small business bankers by the end of next year. That would raise the number of such bankers to about 500, "or one for every two North American branches."

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) generated lots of media last month for announcing it will hire 1,000 bankers to specialize in developing relationships and products for small businesses, starting in Washington, Baltimore, Dallas and Los Angeles. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) maintains it is the biggest lender to small businesses by dint of its SBA work.

But small-business lending requires a different sort of expertise. "You're going to have inventory loans, you're going to have floorplan financing for different types of dealerships, you're going to have receivables lending, you're going to have lines of credit for businesses to make payroll," one expert tells Bloomberg. "It's totally different, and it requires a great deal of monitoring," he noted.

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