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

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.

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.

The Small Business Administration said lenders approved $71 billion in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program in less than five days.

The Small Business Administration’s loan processing platform went down Monday for as long as four hours, temporarily halting the ability of lenders to process loans for small business owners seeking relief from the impact of the coronavirus.

The central bank is creating a facility to provide financing to banks participating in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

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.

Commercial real estate lenders have to consider not only how they’ll weather the COVID-19 downturn, but whether worker and consumer habits have changed for good.

Draw-downs on C&I credit more than quadrupled in a seven-day period ended March 25. Lenders may try to rein them in if the crisis drags out, but legal precedent isn’t on their side.

Regulators' decision to delay reporting for troubled-debt restructurings should allow banks and credit unions to be more nimble modifying loans impaired by the coronavirus outbreak.