In blue states in particular, governors and attorneys general are taking up the mantle of consumer protection during the coronavirus emergency, effectively adding another layer of regulation to the patchwork of state and federal oversight.
The maneuver could delay efforts by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to add another $250 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.
The decision sparked outrage from small-business owners who have checking accounts with the bank but not loans or business credit cards. Bank of America started taking applications Friday for a $349 billion program that's intended to offer aid to small businesses suffering from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid the coronavirus emergency, the central bank may have to decide at what point the imperatives of an economic crisis outweigh the requirements of its most severe enforcement action in recent memory.
