By 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.
PayPal, Intuit QuickBooks Capital and Square Capital have been named direct lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program, and more await the go-ahead. They could be crucial to reaching the smallest firms trying to survive the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
Just days after the Fed lifted Wells Fargo's asset cap so it could make more Paycheck Protection Program loans, it warned customers its queue is long and they may want to go elsewhere before program funds are exhausted.
Bankers say they’re still trying to figure out if the Fed’s complex loan-buying vehicles will help them cater to the needs of midsize commercial customers hammered by the economic shock from the coronavirus outbreak.
Midsize businesses and state and local governments are among the beneficiaries of the central bank's latest $2 trillion effort to mitigate the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many 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.
Upgrade's hybrid loan-card product can now be used without swiping as consumers and retail workers seek to minimize spread of novel coronavirus.
The 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.
The government should encourage community lenders to offer six-month loan repayment forbearances to struggling businesses before it’s too late.
The central bank is creating a facility to provide financing to banks participating in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.