Investments

Eastern Bank in Boston could raise as much as $1.7 billion to spend on acquisitions and technology investments that it says will be necessary to respond to customers' increasing preference for digital tools.

The coronavirus-induced recession has broadened the addressable market for early wage access, and that's drawing investors such as PayPal and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who just poured a fresh funding round into Even.

Lenders stock up on masks, Plexiglas barriers and cleaning supplies; lawmakers hope recent fixes will attract more borrowers, but small businesses remain wary after constant changes.

Unlike in previous years, the results from two different evaluations will be released simultaneously and will include an assessment of bank capital under coronavirus-related scenarios.

Members of both parties raised concerns that the requirements for participating in the Municipal Liquidity Facility and Main Street Lending Program are too restrictive to benefit smaller localities and certain midsize firms.

The funds will be used to support housing, job training and aid for small businesses in communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

The Georgia company said the agency is looking at its policies for paying, or withholding, Paycheck Protection Program fees to borrowers' agents.

The general structure of this year’s reviews is unchanged despite the pandemic. But a supplemental analysis of banks' response to the downturn could weigh heavily in evaluating 2020 capital distributions and making adjustments to the tests over the long run.

Payouts continue to be relatively generous, but that could change if the Federal Reserve demands banks bolster capital or the economy worsens.

Investors are looking past signs of weakness and toward an eventual recovery, but top executives at BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms remain cautious as many cities and states remain in partial lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.