Retail & Commercial

While analysts agree banks are in better shape than in 2008, lawmakers are dusting off a crisis-era tool used by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to soothe potential liquidity fears during the coronavirus pandemic.

With seven in 10 rooms sitting empty amid the coronavirus outbreak, hotel and banking groups are urging policymakers to open up the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility.

The company is one of the first to share information on impacted clients, forbearance requests and emergency loan applications.

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp, along with 200 state-chartered banks and credit unions, have agreed to let borrowers skip payments for 90 days if their finances have been upended by the pandemic.

Details of the $2 trillion deal were still fluid Wednesday, but lawmakers were closing in on a plan that would aim to put lenders and consumers alike on stronger financial footing as they weather the coronavirus pandemic.

While loans continued to increase, growth was slower than one year previously and membership was flat.

Alliance Data Systems, which has substantial exposure to the mall-based retail sector, sought Tuesday to assuage investors' fears about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bankers will be pressed on upcoming earnings calls to forecast how the coronavirus pandemic — and the government's response — will shape credit quality, margins and fee income.

Many banks are offering low-interest loans to help consumers and small businesses withstand the economic shocks of the pandemic. Some are also doing away with ATM, overdraft and late fees because, as one CEO put it, that revenue “is not the most important thing right now.”

The $2 trillion deal passed by the Senate late Wednesday would aim to put banks and consumers alike on stronger financial footing as they weather the coronavirus pandemic.