SBA

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that $349 billion will likely not be enough meet loan demand from small businesses seeking a lifeline to help them weather the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.

Many bankers find crucial parts of the SBA effort to help businesses hurt by the coronavirus outbreak to be unclear and onerous. If those issues go unresolved, participation could suffer.

Lenders are rallying around a bill from Sen. Rubio that would give them access to another $50 billion under the 7(a) program. It could face obstacles in the House, where a bill favors direct lending by the Small Business Administration.

Lawmakers have also criticized the agency's decision to create qualifying standards for farmers and other small businesses.

Lenders are glad the agency worked swiftly through a backlog of paperwork, but they're worried funds will get cut off if the government closes again.

Many federal agencies have been closed for more than three weeks, making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history. With no end in sight, here's how it's affecting banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders.

The tricky part: raising awareness without appearing to take advantage of borrowers at a time when agencies like the SBA are out of commission.

Live Oak Bancshares became an SBA juggernaut by making loans, selling them and making more. With economic conditions changing, it is retaining more credits.

The House of Representatives passed two bills that would tie appraisal waivers for Small Business Administration loans to bank rules for commercial real estate loans, despite objections from the Appraisal Institute about its members being cut out of transactions.