American Banker - April 2023

PPP: WAS IT WORTH IT?

Despite growing concerns about fraud, bankers and credit union lenders say PPP provided a crucial source of capital, backstopping the economy as it faced an unprecedented challenge from the pandemic.

Billions were lost to fraud during PPP. Now, prosecutors are increasing efforts to recoup taxpayer money, leaving lenders worried they could be put under the microscope next.

Lenders are bracing for more companies to fall behind on their loan payments. That could create more opportunities for banks to dispose of these nonperforming credits through an Article 9 sale.

After the failure of two banks between $100 billion and $250 billion of assets, many are asking regulators to change their oversight practices for these banks. The Fed has a wide berth to make a wide array of changes.

This has been a difficult year for the industry with government takeovers of three regional institutions, which rank among the 10 biggest failures in U.S. history. Here is a look at what went wrong at those three banks and the seven others on this infamous list.

Besides negating the benefits of a central bank digital currency, the Federal Reserve's real-time payments system will bring about numerous positive changes, including helping consumers who live paycheck to paycheck.

The real-time payments system from the Federal Reserve will spur an increase in payments innovations and drive prices lower for existing products.

In his new book, the technology and financial services veteran Thomas Vartanian explores how countries could band together to create a more secure digital world while explaining what's holding society back from achieving this.