2 men charged with fraud over PPP loan applications

David Staveley claimed he had dozens of employees at three restaurants. He only owned two, and neither was open when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Justice Department found.

By Dan Ennis • May 6, 2020

Regulators give Tennessee de novo conditional approval

RockPoint Bank is Tennessee's third new bank to open since 2008. Executives told Banking Dive in 2020 it had hoped to open by Oct. 31.

By Anna Hrushka • Updated March 22, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Banking Dive

Amid a swell of activity, financial institutions large and small are leaning into their aspirations. For PNC, it’s scale. For some fintechs, it’s a charter. For Millbury National Bank, it may simply be niceness.

By Banking Dive staff

Israeli bank fined $900M over tax evasion, role in soccer bribery scandal

The enforcement action against Hapoalim comes as regulators hit banks with a near-record $10 billion in fines over 15 months, a figure European startup Fenergo expects will increase.

By Anna Hrushka • May 4, 2020

Coronavirus delays $1.1B deal for Santander's Puerto Rico branches

The transaction is hardly the first delayed by the outbreak. First Horizon Bank's acquisition of 30 Truist branches is being pushed to the third quarter. And CalWest and Bank of Southern California are renegotiating their merger.

By Dan Ennis • May 4, 2020

Fed expands Main Street program, cuts loan threshold by half

The central bank is including larger companies, but some small-business advocates and industry leaders say the $500,000 minimum loan is still too high.

By Anna Hrushka • May 1, 2020

SBA gives small lenders 8-hour PPP window, drawing big banks' ire

"Many small businesses went to banks over $1 billion to help provide for their family," Richard Hunt, president and CEO of the CBA, tweeted Wednesday. "Don't play favorites with small businesses. All need a lifeline right now."

By Anna Hrushka • April 30, 2020

Wells Fargo's ties to NRA 'declining,' CEO Scharf says

The lender has been winding down its relationship with the gun lobby over the past two years, a bank spokesman said. Wells had arranged $431 million in debt for gunmakers between 2012 and 2018, Bloomberg data shows.

By Dan Ennis • April 29, 2020

Credit union trade group questions PPP's batch processing system

The 5,000 minimum required to submit loans in batches is too high to benefit smaller lenders like credit unions, CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan told Banking Dive.

By Anna Hrushka • April 29, 2020

Fed suspends 6-transaction-per-month limit on savings accounts

Limited bank hours and virus-related stay-at-home orders force customers to make more transactions online, spurring them to surpass the limit more quickly, the Independent Community Bankers of America argued.

By Dan Ennis • April 29, 2020

Day 1 of PPP's Round 2 didn't bring the refresh bankers wanted

Technical glitches and overwhelming demand again took down the SBA's loan processing system, as lenders ponder all-nighters, equality and copious screen-checking.

By Dan Ennis • April 28, 2020

Sen. Gillibrand calls on Congress to reestablish postal banking service

A return to the postal banking system would aid in the delivery of coronavirus stimulus checks, said Mehrsa Baradaran, a law professor specializing in banking law at the University of California, Irvine.

By Anna Hrushka • April 28, 2020

Lenders get 2nd chance to correct PPP flaws

Despite some negative press, the first rollout of the SBA program has let some banks prove they can help their customers even in the worst of times, said David Zaring, a Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics.

By Anna Hrushka • April 27, 2020

Lenders report PPP portal access issues minutes after relaunch

"The difference between this program and unemployment is if you qualify for this program, it’s like getting unemployment authorization and then having a footrace to the office," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Sunday.

By Dan Ennis • Updated April 27, 2020

House passes $484B relief package, including $320B for PPP loans

Despite the flaws associated with the first round of funding — from last-minute guidance to a portal outage to alleged borrower favoritism — the new infusion is expected to be available only briefly.

By Dan Ennis • April 23, 2020

Monzo applies for US banking license

The British digital bank, which is furloughing up to 295 U.K. employees and closing a Las Vegas office, told the OCC it expects most of the disruption from the coronavirus pandemic to have subsided by its launch date.

By Anna Hrushka • April 23, 2020

$60B carveout for small lenders doesn't solve PPP's problems, fintech exec says

The set-aside should have taken into account the size of loan, not the bank, Funding Circle's Ryan Metcalf told Banking Dive.

By Anna Hrushka • April 23, 2020

Betterment launches checking, savings accounts

The robo-adviser has seen signups grow, even in the worst weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Jon Stein said.

By Anna Hrushka • April 22, 2020

Coronavirus delays First Horizon's acquisition of 30 Truist branches until Q3

The Memphis-based bank's proposed merger with IberiaBank should still close on schedule, CEO Bryan Jordan said. Shareholders are set to vote Friday on the deal.

By Dan Ennis • April 22, 2020

Reciprocal deposits can help community banks save small business

Allotting space on their balance sheets allows banks to immediately increase lending to small businesses before having to scour for additional deposits, writes Tom Nelson, CIO at Reich & Tang.

By Tom Nelson • April 22, 2020

Citi pledges to stop thermal coal-mining financing by 2030

The nation's third-largest bank has long been a green stalwart, reaching a goal to finance $100 billion of activities to address climate change four years ahead of schedule.

By Dan Ennis • Updated July 28, 2020

'Hours matter' as fintechs angle for new wave of PPP money

Nonbank lenders are better positioned this time, but the new infusion may last only a couple days, a trade group leader says.

By Anna Hrushka • April 21, 2020

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, U.S. Bank chased larger PPP loans' fees, lawsuit says

"Had [the bank] been honest, small businesses could have (and would have) submitted their PPP applications to other financial institutions," the lawsuits said. One of the banks, Wells Fargo, emailed customers to that effect.

By Dan Ennis • April 21, 2020

As lawmakers near new PPP deal, banks and fintechs gear up for Round 2

An abundance of caution from big banks and late entry from fintechs gave small banks an edge, as institutions with $10 billion or less in assets doled out 60% of PPP small-business loans.

By Dan Ennis • April 20, 2020

Wells Fargo, Citi, JPMorgan won't apply stimulus checks to negative balances

The Treasury Department is reviewing whether it has the legal authority to prevent banks from using customers' stimulus payments to collect on overdrafts, a source told The Washington Post.

By Dan Ennis • Updated April 21, 2020

Small-business relief program hits limit

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are at an impasse over how they would want any additional funds allocated.

By Anna Hrushka • April 16, 2020