Independent Banker - February 2022 - 26

PORTFOLIO
But often, the smallest, most
vulnerable businesses had the most
difficult time qualifying for PPP loans,
especially if they had been in business
for less than a year or if they only had
one or two employees.
" What we saw in PPP wasn't that
businesses didn't inherently qualify; it
was that producing the documentation
required to meet the program
requirements was a very heavy burden
for them, " says Christopher Maher,
chairman and CEO of OceanFirst
Financial Corp., which operates
$12 billion-asset OceanFirst Bank
N.A. in Toms River, N.J.
Jenny Bennett, market president at
$850 million-asset Summit Bank in
◎FOCUS LENDING
A safety net for
small businesses
Despite the large number of PPP loans distributed to small
businesses, funding didn't always reach those who needed
it the most. These community banks are working to fix that
through microlending programs. By Beth Mattson-Teig
Eugene, Ore., saw something similar.
" When we were done with rounds one
and two of the PPP loans, we realized
that this group that was supposed
to receive these PPP loans didn't
necessarily get them, " she says.
That realization sparked the
idea at Summit Bank to create a
microloan program that would
target underserved groups in its
communities. The bank partnered
in early 2021 with Community
LendingWorks, a Springfield, Ore.,
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund, and donated
$150,000 of its PPP loan income to
fund the new microloan program.
" The goal is to get these businesses
to become viable and eventually
develop relationships with banks that
can be lifelong, " Bennett says.
ne of the harsh realities revealed
by the flood of Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) money
distributed in 2020 and 2021 is that
many businesses and entrepreneurs
in need of small-balance loans fell
through the cracks. Now, some
community banks are launching
microlending programs to redress
the balance.
O
The CARES Act of 2020 included
a " Sense of the Senate " provision
stating that the Small Business
Administration (SBA) should issue
guidance for lenders about prioritizing
underserved groups for PPP loans.
These groups include small businesses
owned by minorities, women and
veterans, as well as businesses located
in low-income areas.
Creating new partnerships
Small business microlending has
traditionally been a tough market
to serve for banks of all sizes due to
the cost inefficiencies. " There is a lot
of time and energy spent, not only
making sure that credit decisions are
appropriate, but also managing the
compliance aspect, " Maher says.
Although the SBA already operates
26 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q February 2022

Independent Banker - February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - February 2022

Table of Contents
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Intro
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Cover1
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Cover2
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Table of Contents
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 2
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 3
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 4
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 5
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 6
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 7
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 8
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 9
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 10
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 11
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 12
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 13
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 14
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 15
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 16
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 17
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 18
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 19
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 20
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 21
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 22
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 23
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 24
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 25
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 26
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 27
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 28
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 29
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 30
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 31
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 32
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 33
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 34
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 35
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 36
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 37
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 38
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 39
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 40
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 41
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 42
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 43
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 44
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 45
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 46
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 47
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 48
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 49
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 50
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 51
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 52
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 53
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 54
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 55
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 56
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 57
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 58
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 59
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 60
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 61
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 62
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 63
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 64
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 65
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 66
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 67
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 68
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 69
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 70
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 71
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 72
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 73
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 74
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 75
Independent Banker - February 2022 - 76
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Cover3
Independent Banker - February 2022 - Cover4
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