Small business lending

With stimulus money running out and forbearances set to expire, consumer spending is bound to shrink. That's bad news for business owners and their landlords, the Pittsburgh bank's CEO says.

The Paycheck Protection Program propped up many banks' balance sheets in the first half of the year, but what will drive loan demand in the second half?

The extension to Aug. 8 was offered by Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, and cleared the chamber by unanimous consent. The House has yet to take up the bill but could pass it as soon as Tuesday night.

Lenders are selling their Paycheck Protection Program loans or hiring outside companies to navigate the process in an effort to reduce risk and avoid overloading their employees.

Banks are beginning to emphasize soft skills to help employees make “human” connections with customers in an environment of reduced face-to-face contact.

The Paycheck Protection Program put a premium on speed in processing and funding loans.

A global health crisis. Economic free fall. A reckoning over racism and inequality. We will not be the same after this — and neither will banking.

Participation in the Main Street Lending Program for midsize companies is partly about public service, but the core business rationale is building "a banking relationship that continues on for some time," the Boston Fed chief says.

Funds from a certificate of deposit at Berkshire Bank will help fuel lending to minority-owned small businesses. Mellody Hobson explains why merely "working on diversity" is not good enough. And Wells Fargo ties compensation to progress on diversity targets.

Business owners are changing banks at three times normal levels, a trend researchers attribute to their difficulty in obtaining emergency loans. If the forgiveness stage of the Paycheck Protection Program proves arduous, that rate could climb much higher.