CARES Act

After tech firms assisted community bankers in processing applications in the Paycheck Protection Program, small-business lenders are continuing to engage with cloud providers and other outside companies to automate the loan forgiveness process.

Many big banks say they will focus on existing customers in offering credit through the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program for midsize businesses. Complex vetting and fear of being inundated are said to be among their concerns.

More than 70% of the industry now has access to the emergency liquidity source, according to the regulator.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said about 300 lenders have signed on to the program and that the central bank is committed to making adjustments that could attract more borrowers.

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.

The inability of Democrats and Republicans to agree on a chairperson and lack of sufficient personnel have made it harder for the commission to do its job — hold Treasury and the Fed accountable for implementing the coronavirus relief law, observers say.

At a congressional hearing, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell discussed steps to get the flow of coins to financial institutions back to pre-pandemic levels, as well as ways to ease other industry burdens.

The Fed chairman updated senators about the agency's new credit facility for midsize firms struggling in the pandemic. He also left open the possibility of additional stress tests to gauge the industry’s coronavirus response.

Lawmakers shouldn't let themselves be misled by a slower pace in personal bankruptcy filings so far this year.

Evidence suggests some minority-owned businesses can’t access loans, and the Trump administration is under pressure to report borrower demographics. The issue is gaining attention against the backdrop of protests over the George Floyd killing.