Small business lending

Several large and midsize banks are investing millions of dollars in Black-run banks, while four community banks have started a fund to make interest-free commercial loans in underserved communities.

It would ignore technical glitches plaguing the entire Paycheck Protection Program and could end up delaying loans to larger borrowers who also need relief, bank executives and their trade groups say.

Only businesses with 20 or fewer employees will be eligible to apply for forgivable loans from the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program.

The Small Business Administration wants to vet Paycheck Protection Program loans of $2 million or more, but lenders have grown tired of waiting for months with no updates.

Banks have diverted resources from traditional Small Business Administration lending to make Paycheck Protection Program loans, but many are taking steps to rev up 7(a) and 504 lending once the PPP winds down.

The majority of Paycheck Protection Program loans are being approved for borrowers in industries that have yet to regain their footing.

Bankers have claimed that the Small Business Administration's procedures to counter fraud and improper lending have ensnared legitimate Paycheck Protection Program applications.

Banks and nonbanks are expected to vie for more commercial business this year, and nonbanks already have signaled a willingness to ease lending standards in order to win business.

The biggest U.S. banks reduced the portion of their collective balance sheets they’re dedicating to loans to a new low, extending a trend that’s seen the largest lenders put less and less of their firepower behind everyday borrowers.

On Sep. 30, 2020. Dollars in thousands.

Only 18% of businesses that received a Paycheck Protection Program or other loan from an online lender were satisfied with customer service, while 42% said they were dissatisfied. Banks, credit unions and CDFIs fared better in the Federal Reserve survey.

The Los Angeles company agreed to buy $105 million of loans and a servicing portfolio that covers another $295 million in originations.

Any business loan growth the industry sees this year will be closely tied to mass vaccination efforts and a broader economic recovery, meaning it may take until at least the third quarter for pent-up demand to translate into new opportunities.

The number of Paycheck Protection Program loans to U.S. small businesses more than doubled in the third week of the latest round of pandemic relief aid, as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase each processed more than $1 billion in funding.

Long hours by bankers and the streamlined resolution of Paycheck Protection Program loans helped lenders collect more fees than anticipated in the fourth quarter. It was a rare bright spot at a time when revenue is being pinched.

The U.S. unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank merged its corporate and specialty team with its commercial banking group, putting the fast-growing operations under the same leadership.

A rule change that allows farms with just one employee tap the Paycheck Protection Program means more pandemic relief funds are flowing into such states as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming and North Dakota.

Businesses owned by minorities and women got a head start this week in a new round of $284 billion funding, and early anecdotal evidence suggests stronger demand coming from these businesses.

First Bank in New Jersey, Northeast Bank in Maine and others have warmed to the idea of using software to streamline Paycheck Protection Program lending so that employees can be more hands-on with customers.

The pace of forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program loans is expected to accelerate when the Small Business Administration issues guidance on additional steps meant to streamline the process.