SBA

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and others cut back on 7(a) lending to focus on originating Paycheck Protection Program loans. Smaller banks such as Live Oak and Byline gained market share by targeting niche industries and originating bigger loans.

Credit is tightening to 2008 levels at a time when small businesses need help the most, former SBA chief Karen Gordon Mills says.

A Small Business Administration program meant to help struggling entrepreneurs amid the coronavirus pandemic may have sent billions of dollars to scammers or ineligible applicants, the agency’s inspector general said.

Small businesses need a new round of loans and aid from the government to keep employees working as the pandemic continues to spread, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said.

Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster advances discovered later they can't get full forgiveness. Lenders want the rules changed.

The legislation would help institutions with less than $15 billion of assets avoid regulatory requirements resulting from participating in the small-business relief program.

The Ohio company's new effort will commit $25 million in 7(a) loans, along with fee waivers and financial education.

The Dallas bank has begun encouraging larger borrowers to seek forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans first as it holds out for the government to streamline the process for loans below $150,000.

Wells Fargo fired more than 100 employees suspected of improperly collecting coronavirus relief funds, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Lenders welcomed the move as a helpful first step but are still urging policymakers to develop a broader, simpler process for expediting the approvals of loans extended to troubled small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.