Commercial lending

M&T Bank, Citizens Financial and Huntington Bancshares are playing it safe even as some of their counterparts have started to trim allowances in response to government stimulus efforts and rapid progress in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

Legislators expressed concerns that thousands of pending applications are stuck in limbo just weeks before the Small Business Administration is legally required to stop accepting them.

Lenders are preparing scores of Paycheck Protection Program applications to secure approval from the Small Business Administration by March 31, but unresolved error codes continue to hinder their efforts.

“We were already shifting to recruiting more problem solvers than people handling transactions,” said Robert Fisher, CEO of Tioga State Bank in New York and incoming chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America. “That pace of change has accelerated.”

Nonbanks had worried the end of the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility would hurt their ability to lend to small businesses. On Monday, the Federal Reserve announced the facility would be extended for three months.

On Dec. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

A big funding source for the Paycheck Protection Program is set to expire on March 31. Its demise would pinch nonbanks that are originating and buying loans, especially if Congress continues the PPP beyond this month.

The bank must submit a plan for improving its risk management and decreasing its commercial real estate exposure, the Federal Reserve said in an enforcement order.

Credit investors are stepping into a void left by banks and insurance companies and providing debt financing for top-quality hotels in a bet on a post-pandemic recovery, according to a report from the real estate services firm JLL.

MUFG Union Bank is offering a new deposit product to commercial clients who want to see their cash reserves used to help finance sustainable projects, such as renewable energy or green transportation.