3 Min ReadSmall banks are a lifeline for many local businesses and should be given first crack at distributing funds from a continuation of the federal stimulus program.
1 Min ReadLawmakers are considering a plan to reserve at least $50 billion in Paycheck Protection Program funds for customers of community banks and small regionals.
4 Min ReadMinorities are often hit harder financially during a crisis, but if regulators move forward on revamping the Community Reinvestment Act, they’ll only make matters worse.
5 Min ReadThe Small Business Administration stopped approving loans when the Paycheck Protection Program hit its cap.
4 Min ReadThe SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is nearly depleted, but there are ways small banks and fintechs, with help from Congress, can remedy the situation.
1 Min ReadA trade group says suspending so-called beneficial owner rules would help financial institutions make more small-business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.
4 Min ReadUnlike in 2008, banks have become a steady force during the coronavirus pandemic.
4 Min ReadBy helping borrowers now, banks hope customers can quickly catch up on payments once the coronavirus pandemic ends. If they can’t, interest income will remain low and charge-offs could pile up if the crisis drags on.
3 Min ReadMany banks were hitting their limits for lending to small businesses devastated by the coronavirus outbreak. They say the Fed's decisions to help fund additional loans and relax capital requirements will resolve many of their problems.
3 Min ReadThe agency overhauled its system for the Paycheck Protection Program on Wednesday. Lenders hope it addresses the access issues and a crash that bedeviled the effort’s first week.
4 Min ReadCommunity advocates would like to see changes to the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, but say regulators should suspend such efforts until the coronavirus pandemic has passed.
5 Min ReadMeasures that delay the Current Expected Credit Losses standard and reduce a community bank capital ratio are temporary, but the industry now sees an opening to argue that they should be permanent.
3 Min ReadThe government should encourage community lenders to offer six-month loan repayment forbearances to struggling businesses before it’s too late.
1 Min ReadThe central bank is creating a facility to provide financing to banks participating in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
3 Min ReadLenders can offer deferred payments and capitalize on digital banking to help small businesses and consumers get back on their feet.
1 Min ReadThe regulation established standards for investors who own less than a quarter of an institution. Banks are getting more time for implementation as they focus on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 Min ReadRegulators are allowing banks that implemented the loan-loss standard to forestall any capital hits until 2022.
4 Min ReadMany banks are offering low-interest loans to help consumers and small businesses withstand the economic shocks of the pandemic. Some are also doing away with ATM, overdraft and late fees because, as one CEO put it, that revenue “is not the most important thing right now.”
4 Min ReadBanks and credit unions should make it their top priority to pair with the central bank in distributing financial relief to small businesses, even if that means putting everything else on hold.
6 Min ReadAs companies move work off-site because of the pandemic, a host of issues have arisen around remote access, network monitoring and cybersecurity.
