Watchdog Finds Covid Loan Program at High Risk for Fraud
A new report says the speedy setup of emergency small business loans increased the potential for fraud and mismanagement.
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Biden Revamps Pandemic Loan Program to Help Smallest Businesses
The move targets the very smallest businesses — often owned by women and minorities — that have had difficulty accessing loans throughout the pandemic.
Read moreScammed
In a case described as a “jungle novelist Tom Clancy would have been proud of,” a California appeals court set aside a default judgment against a small TV network whose assets were used as collateral for a loan taken out by a large shareholder and his friend — a former congressman — in order to invest in an overseas business opportunity in Ghana, which turned out to be a scam.
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Cruz Fights to Get Back Money He Loaned Campaign
GOP Senator Ted Cruz is calling on a federal court panel to strike down a Federal Election Commission rule limiting post-election donations to pay back money he loaned his 2018 campaign, in a case heard in Washington on Wednesday.
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Claiming Federal Inaction, Newsom Signs Bills to Protect California Consumers
Citing inaction by the Trump administration, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a consumer protection bill giving state regulators greater ability to fight predacious debt collectors and lenders.
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Falling Prices Flash Warning Light for Europe’s Economy
A startling fall in consumer prices and a stronger euro have increased pressure on the European Central Bank to provide another blast of monetary stimulus in support of a drawn-out economic rebound from the pandemic recession.
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Wells Fargo Settles Class Action Over Its Lending Policies for Immigrants
Under a class action settlement approved Friday by a federal judge, Wells Fargo will change its lending policies to extend student loans and other lines of credit to DACA recipients on the same terms and conditions as U.S. citizens.
Read moreSmall Business Grants
Thirty-two small businesses lost their bid for a preliminary injunction to void the Small Business Administration’s “per employee rule” which dictates that small businesses can receive Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants of $1,000 per employee up to $10,000 or $1,000 if they have no employees. The plaintiffs claim they are each due $10,000.
Read morePaycheck Protection Program
A federal judge in Maine instructed a bankruptcy court to reconsider whether two hospitals currently in bankruptcy were properly excluded from eligibility for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act.
Read moreFinancial Reporting Exemptions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau raised the thresholds at which financial institutions are required to report mortgage loans under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, so that “thousands of lending institutions will become exempt from reporting HMDA data, undermining the effectiveness of HMDA in achieving its statutory purposes,” the National Community Reinvestment Coalition claims in a federal complaint.
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Strip Clubs Fight Feds Over Pandemic Loan Denials
Lawyers for 15 strip clubs urged a federal judge Thursday to abolish a regulation that makes erotic dance clubs ineligible for emergency business loans, arguing the policy is inconsistent with a recently passed pandemic relief law and unconstitutional on its face.
Read moreStates Sue Trump Administration Over New Payday-Lending Rule
Seeking to stop the cycle of unsophisticated borrowers getting trapped in a recurring cycle of debt, multiple states have imposed regulations on payday lenders in recent years – regulations that will no longer apply to some lenders under a new Trump administration rule.
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Kodak Gets $765 Million US Loan for Generic Drug Supply
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eastman Kodak will receive a federal loan of $765 million to help reduce reliance on other countries
Read moreVirus Lending FOIA
Southern California Public Radio dba KPCC brought a federal complaint against the U.S. Small Business Administration for “basic information about the Paycheck Protection Program, including the names of all PPP loan recipients and the amount of each borrower’s PPP loan.”
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Big Companies Got ‘Small Business’ Covid Loans First
Ever since the federal government launched its emergency lending program for small businesses on April 3, there have been complaints that bigger companies had their loans approved and disbursed more quickly. There is evidence to back up those complaints.
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Mnuchin Calls on Congress to OK More Stimulus Money
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a House Small Business Committee hearing Friday that Congress should approve another round of relief money with an emphasis on businesses hurting the most.
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Treasury Reveals Big Firms That Got Millions in Virus Loans
The Trump administration finally put out a partial list of small business borrowers Monday, revealing a wide spectrum of companies tapped stimulus funds.
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Supreme Court Nixes Robocall Exception for Federal Loans
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down an exception for government debt collection in a federal ban on robocalls, though it declined the invitation of a group of political professionals to strike down the ban entirely.
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Audit of Stimulus Hiccups Hits Wall Street With a Thud
The federal government’s response to the coronavirus recession has helped prop up flailing companies and families, but it is also riddled with problems.
Read moreAuto Financing
Under the terms of a settlement filed in federal court in California, Wells Fargo will pay $1.185 million and change its lending practice for direct auto financing to offer DACA recipients loans under the same terms and conditions available to U.S. citizens.
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