“What we’re doing here is keeping people employed, keeping doors open,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says about the $350 billion small business relief program.
Bank of America'sThe U.S. government has asked banks to help it dole out at least $350 billion in loans to small businesses, part of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill signed last week. But banks and industry groups haveto get online systems up and running until just hours before the deadline. That guidance was finally issued by the Treasury Department around 7 p.m. Thursday, leaving banks scrambling to get their systems to accept loan applications.
"Having just received guidance outlining how to implement a $349 billion program literally hours before it starts, we would ask for everyone to be patient," Richard Hunt, head of the Consumer Bankers Association, said late Thursday. He added that the organization's members would "move heaven and earth to get a system in place and running to help America's small businesses and the millions of men and women who work at them.
Even at Bank of America, there was confusion among customers about the program. The bank is prioritizing existing customers with online accounts who are active borrowers as of last month, meaning that some of the lender's customers were initially shut out of the application process. Bank employees toiled overnight on the program and shifted workers into loan processing roles to handle the expected deluge of applications. The latest version of the government's borrower application form was posted on Treasury's website at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night, according to an industry source.said Thursday that the Paycheck Protection Program would be "up and running" on Friday. At 8:42 a.m.
Customers reported that banks and credit unions including PNC and Navy Federal Credit Union have informed them that they weren't ready to take applications.
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