Commercial lending

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.

The online lender quickly built an app for ride-share drivers with much of their information already filled in.

Fannie Mae has chosen Morgan Stanley while Freddie Mac is going with JPMorgan Chase; the bank’s overhaul plan has helped make it the best-performing big-bank stock so far this year.

In letters to administration officials and large banks, the lawmakers sought details about loan recipients following reports that financial institutions had favored their wealthiest clients.

The central bank also asked for public feedback on a proposal to extend support for coronavirus relief loans to nonprofit organizations that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Mar. 31, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

The lawmakers cited concerns from small businesses that the current application to have coronavirus relief loans forgiven is “especially burdensome, time-consuming, and costly.”

Uwharrie Capital in North Carolina and Valley National in New York used their community connections to seek out small companies in need of loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. They found plenty of them.

A budget item establishing a new agency to protect consumers from predatory lenders has been put on hold as state officials deal with the coronavirus response and other priorities. But it could be revived in legislative talks later this summer.

Lenders are cautioning not only that second-quarter provisions might exceed the spike seen earlier this year, but also that credit costs could be elevated into 2021 if the economic slowdown drags on or fears of a second coronavirus wave are borne out.

As revenue-starved retailers fall further behind on rent payments, landlords' cash flow will be strained, and defaults on commercial real estate loans could rise.

The central bank is only now nearing the launch of the credit facilities after the effort was announced in April. But Chairman Jerome Powell said loans have been available through other means.