Airbnb plans to offer a rental service for mega-homes, mansions and penthouses that will be inspected to ensure they pass muster.

The company will start testing the new offering in some markets at the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter. If the tests are successful, the San Francisco company will roll out the service broadly, the people said. Airbnb declined to comment.

Looking to appeal to well-heeled travelers, Airbnb has been segmenting its offerings much the way hotel chains do. The company has already started testing a tier called Airbnb Select, which requires hosts to maintain consistent standards for their lodgings. Just as you can walk into any hotel and expect a consistent set of towels, blankets and quality, Airbnb Select is designed to do the same. Those homes must also be inspected.

The new tier is fancier — penthouses versus apartments, mansions versus family homes. It’s known internally as “Airbnb Lux,” but an official name has yet to be determined, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter. Its creation follows Airbnb’s acquisition this year of Luxury Retreats, a Canadian company that before its sale listed more than 4,000 villas and vacation homes. Those places are not yet featured as a separate section on Airbnb’s website.

Banking

MBA BY THE BAY: See how an MBA could change your life with SFGATE's interactive directory of Bay Area programs.

Chinese bank

gets blacklisted

The Trump administration has blacklisted a small Chinese bank accused of illicit dealings with North Korea, escalating pressure to get Beijing to rein in its wayward ally.

The Treasury Department says that the Bank of Dandong is a “primary money-laundering concern.” It is proposing severing the bank from the U.S. financial system, pending a 60-day review period.

The announcement reflects growing U.S. frustration over China’s efforts to enforce international sanctions intended to starve North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and missile programs.

Courts

EPA can ignore

job impacts

The Environmental Protection Agency is not required to estimate the number of mining job losses that may be caused by air pollution regulations, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Despite the decision, the agency said that under President Trump it would consider the impact of its policies on jobs.

“President Trump’s EPA will take the economic and job impacts of its proposed regulations into account ... regardless of the outcome of this particular case,” EPA spokeswoman Amy Graham said in a statement.

Trump has repeatedly called for a resurgence of coal, which has been in a steep decline over the last several years. Last month, he removed the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, which seeks to deal globally with carbon emissions. He declared in a speech Thursday that his administration had “ended the war on coal.”

The ruling from the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a West Virginia judge’s decision that sided with coal companies. Murray Energy and other companies argued the EPA should have to report on potential job losses caused by its policies. The EPA under Barack Obama’s administration had appealed that ruling.

Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray has been critical of Obama administration environmental policies, saying they led to major job losses in the coal industry because power plants moved away from burning coal to generate electricity.

A Murray Energy spokesman says the company plans to appeal.

Food

Guilty plea

for price fixing

A former StarKist tuna company executive has pleaded guilty to price fixing of packaged seafood sold in the United States.

Prosecutors say the scheme has led to charges against rival tuna company Bumble Bee Foods.

Stephen Hodge, a former StarKist Co. senior vice president, entered his plea in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

Federal prosecutors say Hodge and rival industry executives agreed to fix the prices of packaged seafood.

The U.S. government began investigating price fixing of canned tuna between StarKist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea more than two years ago.

Two Bumble Bee executives have pleaded guilty to price-fixing, and Bumble Bee has agreed to pay a $25 million fine.

Investing

Berkshire may

own more BofA

Warren Buffett’s company is likely to become Bank of America’s largest investor soon because the bank received approval to boost its dividend.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holds warrants to buy 700 million shares of Bank of America stock. It received the warrants in 2011 when Buffett invested $5 billion in the bank.

Berkshire has received $300 million a year in interest payments tied to the investment, but now that Bank of America plans to increase its annual dividend to 48 cents per share Berkshire would make more by converting the warrants to common stock and collecting the dividend.

The 700 million shares would give Berkshire a stake of about 6.5 percent in the bank.

Buffett told his shareholders this year that he planned to trade Berkshire’s preferred stock for common shares once Bank of America raised its dividend over 44 cents.

Berkshire is also a major shareholder in Wells Fargo, American Express and Goldman Sachs.

Chronicle News Services