Small business lending

The billionaire investor and entrepreneur sees problems with small businesses having to apply for loans to get coronavirus relief. He says a more efficient approach would be to let them run negative balances on their bank accounts.

Lenders are being urged to prepare applications for the latest version of the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Tempe Small Business Emergency Loan Program will provide $1 million to help area companies weather the coronavirus.

The industry has always been somewhat reluctant to participate in Small Business Administration lending, but that could change if the agency manages the Paycheck Protection Program well going forward.

The central bank and other agencies have come under pressure to be transparent about their use of funds authorized by the recent pandemic rescue law.

Lawmakers should approve a program to distribute stimulus funds using a government-sanctioned coin, which would be speedier than the current system.

A backlog has formed since the first round of Paycheck Protection Program funding dried up, threatening to further strain a platform that struggled to handle the initial workload.

The program, created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, generated $19 billion in small-business loans. It could be used as a viable path out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Small banks are a lifeline for many local businesses and should be given first crack at distributing funds from a continuation of the federal stimulus program.

The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is nearly depleted, but there are ways small banks and fintechs, with help from Congress, can remedy the situation.