Bank of America, which came under fire for prioritizing applications from existing small-business customers, asked a federal judge in Baltimore to reject a request in a lawsuit to temporarily bar it from employing the practice.

Bankers say they’re still trying to figure out if the Fed’s complex loan-buying vehicles will help them cater to the needs of midsize commercial customers hammered by the economic shock from the coronavirus outbreak.

The week-old Paycheck Protection Program will be opened up to sole proprietors and independent contractors on Friday.

Midsize businesses and state and local governments are among the beneficiaries of the central bank's latest $2 trillion effort to mitigate the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many banks were hitting their limits for lending to small businesses devastated by the coronavirus outbreak. They say the Fed's decisions to help fund additional loans and relax capital requirements will resolve many of their problems.

Customers in the challenger bank's pilot program drew down an average of $200 each in advance of the government's $1,200 payments.

Commonwealth of Australia (CBA) reports digital wallet users spent a AUS$1 billion (about $630 million) in March 2020, a high for the bank that's part of an acceleration to digital wallets and contactless cards during the coronavirus crisis.

The maneuver could delay efforts by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to add another $250 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.