Commercial lending

A global health crisis. Economic free fall. A reckoning over racism and inequality. We will not be the same after this — and neither will banking.

Participation in the Main Street Lending Program for midsize companies is partly about public service, but the core business rationale is building "a banking relationship that continues on for some time," the Boston Fed chief says.

Former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig says making online lenders, credit unions and other nonbanks comply with the Community Reinvestment Act would be a powerful tool in addressing racial and economic injustices.

Funds from a certificate of deposit at Berkshire Bank will help fuel lending to minority-owned small businesses. Mellody Hobson explains why merely "working on diversity" is not good enough. And Wells Fargo ties compensation to progress on diversity targets.

Business owners are changing banks at three times normal levels, a trend researchers attribute to their difficulty in obtaining emergency loans. If the forgiveness stage of the Paycheck Protection Program proves arduous, that rate could climb much higher.

The agencies said late Friday that they will provide information on small businesses that received $150,000 or more from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Activity in the Paycheck Protection Program has waned, but some argue that many small businesses, especially those owned by minorities, will miss out if the June 30 application deadline isn't extended.

Worried about a lack of demand and that some of their customers are ineligible, community banks are still on the fence about participating in the effort to back loans for businesses recovering from the pandemic crisis.

A blueprint that includes more CRA and tax credits for lower-income African Americans would help a demographic disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Other challenger banks focused on personal loans have struggled since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.