Paycheck Protection Program

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.”

Partnering with the account-opening software firm Mantl, the New Jersey bank created a CD campaign that helped fund its Paycheck Protection Program lending.