WASHINGTON–NCUA has told credit unions that the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program would restrict loan applications to institutions of $1 billion or less in assets from 4 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The move comes as many smaller lenders have complained the biggest banks are dominating the PPP funding process.
According to the agency, the reserved processing time was to ensure access to the PPP “for the smallest lenders and their small business customers.”
NCUA further stated:
* Lending institutions with asset sizes less than $1 billion will still be able to submit PPP loans outside of this time frame
* Lenders with asset sizes greater than $1 billion will be able to submit loans outside of Wednesday’s 4 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET reserved processing time.
“This reserved processing time applies today April 29, 2020,” NCUA said. “SBA and Treasury will evaluate whether to create a similar reserved time again in the future.”
No Robots
Separately, the SBA said it is restricting the use of robotic processing automation (RPA) as a means of entering loan applications into the Paycheck Protection Program, saying lenders are reporting significant difficulties accessing the E-Tran system.
“RPAs burden the processing system and diminish its capabilities,” SBA said in a message to lenders. “Without RPAs, the loan processing system will be more reliable, accessible, and equitable for all small businesses.”
The SBA said it is still permitting lenders to submit PPP applications through application programming interfaces, or APIs. As CUToday.info has reported, numerous financial institutions and trade associations have reported problems during round II of the PPP program, which is currently disbursing $310 billion in new funds.
‘Little Success’
“Banks of all sizes worked through the night to process PPP loans with little success,” American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols said in a tweet. “Banks are still trying and counting on SBA and Treasury to fix it so we can speed this aid to small businesses that desperately need it.”
Nichols later told CBS News that banks are “desperate to help their millions of small business customers all across the country.”