The St. Louis company is gaining a sizable Small Business Administration platform and several niche deposit teams. Keeping those specialists in the fold will be key to the acquisition's success.
Many sellers are ditching the loans to avoid the cumbersome forgiveness process. For others, the Paycheck Protection Program was never a strategic fit.
Besides reauthorizing the Paycheck Protection Program, Congress should upgrade the loan forgiveness process, offer businesses the chance to take out a second loan and ensure the pricing satisfies lenders, bankers say.
The Senate Republicans' coronavirus relief package, known as the HEALS Act, would continue to make the loan program available to businesses, but any final bill would need to be negotiated with House Democrats.
Greater Nevada Credit Union, like a number of community banks, agreed to sell its Paycheck Protection Program loans to avoid navigating the complicated forgiveness process.
For all banks' claims that credit unions pose a threat to their commercial lending market share, they've accounted for just 2% of volume in the Paycheck Protection Program.
After tech firms assisted community bankers in processing applications in the Paycheck Protection Program, small-business lenders are continuing to engage with cloud providers and other outside companies to automate the loan forgiveness process.
