Community banking

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed weaknesses even at well-established fintechs. They could become more resilient by partnering with traditional financial institutions.

Jelena McWilliams explains the agency's decision to enlist the help of tech innovators to modernize a reporting process that the coronavirus epidemic has exposed as outdated.

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.

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.

Peoples Bank in Arkansas and Main Street Bank in Massachusetts are getting smarter about spotting suspicious transactions tied to unemployment benefit fraud as well as warning customers what to watch out for.

After initially processing the loans manually, the Minnesota bank turned to "low code" software to build the electronic forms and workflows needed to approve loan applications. The result: a more than fivefold increase in the number of loans it could process in a day.

James Smith, who recently completed his gradual transition out of banking, was spearheading a public-private economic development plan for Connecticut when the coronavirus pandemic hit. The crisis made the need for the plan greater — and the job harder.

Demand has soared for mental health services as bank employees put in long hours, supervise kids while working at home and endure personal crises. Citi, BofA, Fifth Third and others are getting creative to help them decompress during the pandemic.

Lenders are scrambling to pause ranchers’ loan payments as meat processing plant shutdowns during the pandemic threaten $25 billion in losses for the livestock industry.

The Texas bank is leaning on solutions from Lightico and MANTL to quickly set up accounts and handle loans when customers can’t sign documents in person because of the coronavirus emergency.

Operation HOPE Chief Executive John Hope Bryant talks about how the Community Reinvestment Act influenced him at the age of 9 and eventually led to the founding of his nonprofit, which works with banks to help communities in need. But he says the 1977 law is outdated.

Critics of the Community Reinvestment Act revamp want to freeze the rulemaking process. That would only delay financial help to New York and other hard-hit cities.

Banks could end up holding many low-rate Paycheck Protection Program loans on their books for two years, and dealing with irate borrowers who failed to meet federal requirements for forgiveness.

Up to 12% of loans under the $660 billion small-business rescue program could be tied to misleading or completely phony applications, fueling concerns about lenders' potential liability.

Coronavirus has taken bankers out of their comfort zone. But they should view adaptations they’ve made in confronting the pandemic as a chance to hone their emergency response skills, not a permanent new normal.

Bankers are bracing for accusations of discrimination in the way Paycheck Protection Program loans were allocated.

Regulators need to revamp their proposal to overhaul the Community Reinvestment Act now that the coronavirus outbreak has created unforeseen financial needs.

It's time for agencies like the Small Business Administration to stop playing catch-up and invest in state-of-the art technology.

The program, created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, generated $19 billion in small-business loans. It could be used as a viable path out of the coronavirus pandemic.

The House is expected to vote later this week on the bill expanding emergency relief for small businesses reeling from the effects of the coronavirus.