Banking

Data from the Small Business Credit Survey and insights from community-based organizations prove to be invaluable tools for helping small businesses access the credit they need.

As consolidation within the banking industry during the 2000s accelerated in the 2010s, the number of banking institutions and the branches they operate fluctuated. How did these changes affect banking customers?

Nearly 18 months from the outbreak of COVID-19, small employer firms—businesses with fewer than 500 employees—continue to cope with the extra challenges the pandemic brought. How are they weathering the pandemic?

To help small businesses cope with the loss of revenue during the pandemic, the Small Business Administration extended forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. While the program reached millions of small businesses, it is important to examine to what extent this occurred in low- and moderate-income communities.

Discussions to share info and seek public comment on proposed changes to modernize the CRA revealed two things key for ensuring access to capital for all people and communities.

The Community Reinvestment Act is up for its first significant revision in 25 years. It’s important we optimize this tool to address systemic disinvestment in lower-income and minority communities.

The Fed is seeking to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act in a way that significantly expands financial inclusion, and you can have a say in how it’s done.

One anticipated effect of the 2017 tax cuts was to stimulate business investment. But the two provisions work in opposite directions, and that’s likely to keep investment lower than it would have been without the reform.

The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 is a key metric to judge the novel coronavirus’s trajectory. Leaders need accurate data about COVID-19 deaths to make informed policy, and two competing approaches are being debated.

Community partnerships are essential for local responsiveness during a crisis. Just one such Pittsburgh partnership led to saving more than 100 jobs and securing more than $1.3 million in PPP funds.