Small business 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.

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.

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.