Consumer banking

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.

The pandemic won’t halt the Cincinnati bank's plan to open about 100 branches in the Southeast, but features could be added to accommodate social distancing.

Small 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.

Lawmakers are considering a plan to reserve at least $50 billion in Paycheck Protection Program funds for customers of community banks and small regionals.

From stimulus checks to the Paycheck Protection Program, the government’s infusion of cash into an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic has primarily helped those who already strong banking relationships.

Minorities 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.

Square Capital and other online lenders joined the Paycheck Protection Program just before it ran out of money. Now they’re ready and waiting for Congress to reload funds that could be better aimed at the smallest companies.

Consumers and businesses put more money in the bank as the pandemic worsened. How long the funds remain will depend on how quickly the economy recovers.

The plan first announced in February to update the deposit insurance sign and logo at bank teller stations and ATMs became just the latest regulatory effort slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Small Business Administration stopped approving loans when the Paycheck Protection Program hit its cap.

The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is nearly depleted, but there are ways small banks and fintechs, with help from Congress, can remedy the situation.

As universities move classes online, there are signs enrollment could be down in the coming academic year. That could have a major impact on credit unions’ private student loan portfolios.

A trade group says suspending so-called beneficial owner rules would help financial institutions make more small-business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

Unlike in 2008, banks have become a steady force during the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

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.

Customers in the challenger bank's pilot program drew down an average of $200 each in advance of the government's $1,200 payments.

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.

Community 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.

Measures 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.