Small business lending

The Small Business Administration will allow lenders with less than $1 billion of assets to process applications in two days. The portal will open to all lenders on Tuesday.

Several community banks said they didn't have enough time to review the Paycheck Protection Program's application forms, forcing them to sit out Monday's reopening. The SBA is not saying when more lenders will be allowed to access its portal.

Bankers have several unanswered questions about the Paycheck Protection Program before it reopens to select lenders on Monday. Among them: When will forms be available, and which portal will the Small Business Administration use?

Community banks will have access to allocated funds and at least two days of exclusive portal access when the Small Business Administration relaunches the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Internal Revenue Service will allow businesses that got their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven to write off expenses paid for with that money, shifting policy after Congress passed new legislation last month.

Brian Argrett, whose City First Bank is being sold to Los Angeles-based Broadway Financial, would take the helm of the combined company at a time of increased national interest in reinvigorating minority-owned financial institutions.

Triad Business Bank opened in North Carolina shortly before the launch of the Paycheck Protection Program, which brought in many clients. CEO Ramsey Hamadi, one of our community bankers to watch in 2021, will have to work hard to retain them after their loans are forgiven.

The new legislation includes a provision sparing lenders from having to pay such fees on Paycheck Protection Program loans, except in cases where they agree in advance with borrower representatives to do so.

Gilles Gade, one our community bankers to watch in 2021, led an effort that made Cross River Bank one of the biggest Paycheck Protection Program participants. He is ready for his team to pick up where it left off when the new stimulus package kicks in.

The measure, just the second of its kind the nation, mandates that fintechs, factoring firms and other nonbank small-business lenders clearly explain the terms and conditions to borrowers.