Neil Haggerty

Besides reauthorizing the Paycheck Protection Program, Congress should upgrade the loan forgiveness process, offer businesses the chance to take out a second loan and ensure the pricing satisfies lenders, bankers say.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have imposed heavy price adjustments for loans that were granted relief under the pandemic relief law enacted in March.

The panel later this month will vote on the nomination of Judy Shelton, whose views on certain policy issues have met with skepticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

Chris Dodd and Barney Frank said the legislation — nearing its 10th anniversary — put banks in position to be a stabilizing force during the coronavirus crisis.

The inability of Democrats and Republicans to agree on a chairperson and lack of sufficient personnel have made it harder for the commission to do its job — hold Treasury and the Fed accountable for implementing the coronavirus relief law, observers say.

The Fed chairman updated senators about the agency's new credit facility for midsize firms struggling in the pandemic. He also left open the possibility of additional stress tests to gauge the industry’s coronavirus response.

Evidence suggests some minority-owned businesses can’t access loans, and the Trump administration is under pressure to report borrower demographics. The issue is gaining attention against the backdrop of protests over the George Floyd killing.

The congressional showdown over the pace of rulemaking during the pandemic is a hardening of older positions on banking policy ahead of the 2020 elections, observers said.

The central bank and other agencies have come under pressure to be transparent about their use of funds authorized by the recent pandemic rescue law.

The Senate Banking Committee chair will work with the heads of other panels in overseeing the $2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed last month.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Treasury secretary that the Financial Stability Oversight Council should create a liquidity facility to deal with a flood of forbearance requests brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

If Capitol Hill plans another round of stimulus, Democrats could have more leverage to demand steps such as suspending overdraft fees or placing a temporary cap on consumer lending rates.

The $2 trillion deal passed by the Senate late Wednesday would aim to put banks and consumers alike on stronger financial footing as they weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The temporary foreclosure moratorium on loans backed by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes after lawmakers and housing advocates had pushed for steps to avoid consumers getting booted from their homes.

Sens. Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren criticized Director Kathy Kraninger for not issuing any public enforcement actions against auto lenders during her tenure.

Sen. Mark Warner led a group of Democratic senators in calling on bank, credit union and GSE regulators to give detailed instructions on helping consumer and commercial borrowers hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Most states have some kind of pricing limit on consumer loans. But proposals for a national usury law divide even Democrats, some of whom are concerned about restricting credit.

Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Richard Shelby of Alabama had been among a handful of Republicans who had expressed uneasiness with Judy Shelton's views on monetary policy.