Bankruptcy Blogs

The U.S. division of HSBC Bank has added Apple’s iMessaging feature to its suite of customer service channels. Instead of waiting on hold, customers can trade texts with an agent.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks says financial institutions are needed more than ever to “sustain existing businesses” and help entrepreneurs rebuild. Meanwhile, reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, he says, can “unblock opportunities” in minority neighborhoods.

Lenders have a role to play in the national reconciliation that must follow the recent racial unrest — providing greater access to capital for African Americans and other underserved groups so they can build wealth, activists said at a panel discussion hosted by Berkshire Bank in Boston.

Big banks call for blanket forgiveness of PPP loans under $150,000; Wells Fargo struggling to stay under asset cap amid pandemic, CEO says; banks are getting aggressive — and creative — to boost profits; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Bankers said legislative fixes to the small-business rescue program should help more borrowers secure loan forgiveness, though new demand will likely remain tepid because the process is still extremely cumbersome.