George Yacik

Prosecutors charge two Rhode Island men with trying to rip off the program; the bank says it has received “inquiries” from state and federal officials on its offering of small business loans.

U.S. banks under $10 billion in assets made 60% of the loans in the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program; things go relatively smoothly in the U.K. as 110,000 small businesses apply for low-cost loans.

Lenders are throwing money at buyers with stable jobs while making it harder for weak borrowers to get loans; $50 billion in loss provisions may not be enough and could stifle lending.

More companies will be eligible to apply for the four-year loans, including those with high debt loads; four-year loans will be offered to European banks with rates as low as minus 1% as the eurozone economy tanks.

A former economist says high-ranking officials engaged in “legally risky” behavior to downplay consumer harm; online payments and contactless transactions jumped in the first quarter, and some think the new habits will stick.

Treasury secretary says big firms that took PPP loans should apologize, not just return the money; German fintech’s shares drop 26% as audit fails to rebut accounting fraud allegations.

Portal crashes, technology glitches, last-minute changes in guidance, renewed suspicions about loan dispersal: Meet the new Paycheck Protection Program, same as the old Paycheck Protection Program.

Lenders and small businesses are hoping this round goes more smoothly than the chaotic first one (and if it doesn't, Joe Biden warns, many mom-and-pop shops are done for); originators are adding staff, cutting marketing to handle massive uptick in refinance applications.

The bill, which President Trump is expected to sign Friday, includes $310 billion more funding; the four largest U.S. banks took in $590 billion of the $1 trillion banks attracted.

Some say the agencies are exacting too high a price to buy loans from the cash-strapped lenders; some small banks hustled in dealing with the Paycheck Protection Program, others are accused of a hustle.