Paycheck Protection Program

Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster advances discovered later they can't get full forgiveness. Lenders want the rules changed.

A recently introduced bill concerning the Paycheck Protection Program loans could hint at what lawmakers will focus on when the House and Senate reconvene next month.

The legislation would help institutions with less than $15 billion of assets avoid regulatory requirements resulting from participating in the small-business relief program.

Institutions that cling to outdated lending tools run the risk of being left behind by commercial clients who are barraged with opportunities to borrow faster and more conveniently.

The Dallas bank has begun encouraging larger borrowers to seek forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans first as it holds out for the government to streamline the process for loans below $150,000.

Executives are urging Congress and the White House to prioritize another round of help for businesses amid concerns that the continuing restrictions on reopening could lead to more loan defaults.

Lenders welcomed the move as a helpful first step but are still urging policymakers to develop a broader, simpler process for expediting the approvals of loans extended to troubled small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.

The flood of liquidity that accompanied the pandemic recession isn’t likely to subside anytime soon. Banks will have to employ a mix of securities buying, hedging and other balance-sheet-management tricks to prop up margins longer than initially imagined.

Longtime finance entrepreneur Jackie Reses, who led Square Capital for the last five years, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Square has not yet named a successor.

House forgiveness plan for Paycheck Protection Program loans is better than nothing, bankers say; why some banks still lean on mainframes; what's next for Goldman Sachs's Marcus; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The coronavirus outbreak has taught community bankers to think on their feet and experiment. Speakers at an industry conference this week advised their peers to stay innovative to ensure they endure in a changing world.

Many sectors are concerned about making money in an economic downturn, but those fears are higher in the financial sector, according to a study from Arizent.

To date, the Small Business Administration hasn’t acted on tens of thousands of applications that lenders have submitted since early August. However, it will begin doing so by early next week, an official says.

A survey conducted by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors found that concerns about operating conditions have led a large percentage of small banks to steer clear of acquisitions and new tech investments.

Lenders are disappointed with a low proposed cutoff for blanket forgiveness, but they said the proposal, which waives applications for some loans, is a good first step.

Loan officers surveyed by the central bank said the subpar creditworthiness of some applicants and the ability of others to find credit elsewhere are among reasons the middle-market rescue facility has fizzled.

Waiting for the SBA to sign off on PPP loan forgiveness; banks criticized for requiring balloon payments on loans in forbearance; how backlash over Scharf remarks affects Wells Fargo’s diversity push; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

U.S. banks and credit unions reported skyrocketing levels of suspected business-loan fraud last month, a period that coincided with growing awareness of scams involving government small-business aid programs.

The Fed chief said that with its Main Street Lending Program, the central bank has “done basically all of the things that we can think of.”