PPP news: Beginning Wednesday morning and ending March 9, the SBA will only accept PPP applications from businesses with fewer than 20 employees. It’s part of a plan Biden will announce today focused on delivering aid to underserved small businesses The SBA also plans to:
— Change PPP eligibility rules so sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals receive more funds
— Eliminate restrictions on business owners with non-fraud felony convictions and those delinquent on their federal student loans

The Biden Treasury just announced its first hires. They include:

• Didem Nisanci, chief of staff, formerly of Bloomberg LP
• Julie Brinn Siegel, deputy chief of staff, former Warren aide
• Alfred Johnson, deputy chief of staff, former Obama admin official and BlackRock VP More Biden Treasury hires:
• Calvin Mitchell, assistant secretary for public affairs
• Marti Adams, executive secretary
• Jacob Leibenluft, counselor to the secretary
• Ryan Jacobs, chief speechwriter and senior advisor

🚨The SBA will restart PPP on Monday. Lenders targeting underserved communities will have exclusive access to offer loans to new borrowers Monday and Tuesday. They will then be able to offer second loans to existing borrowers Wednesday. PPP will open widely a few days later The lenders that will have exclusive access to offer PPP loans next week include community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions. The pool of banks make up about 10 percent of the lenders participating in the program

Treasury Deputy Secretary Muzinich says the administration is studying the possibility of a government-sponsored digital currency, as is the Fed. He says there are efficiency and cost benefits to using a distributed ledger and that it's important for govt to embrace innovation "There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes," Treasury's Muzinich says, but no decision yet on whether to move forward with a government-sponsored digital currency.

New IG report says SBA's rules for PPP loan forgiveness could result in an "unintended burden." Cites concerns about requirement that 75pc of funds go to payroll. Says tens of thousands of borrowers from PPP Round 1 would not meet the threshold The SBA IG report is here sba.gov/sites/default/…

Large banks say they submitted hundreds of thousands of PPP applications but they’re in the dark about how the SBA is handling the loans politico.com/news/2020/04/2… Bank of America from Sunday through early Monday sent 184,000 PPP applications to the SBA. As of yesterday afternoon, it was waiting for the agency to process the loans. The bank believed it had just 1,000 loans approved so far.

Some banks are continuing to take Paycheck Protection Program applications while funding is lapsed. Others are not. Here's a thread on where things stand at various lenders. Bank of America: "We’re continuing to accept and process applications in the expectation that there will be additional funding available, given comments by the President and Congressional leaders." about.bankofamerica.com/promo/assistan…

🚨Banks are warning that a $350 billion small business lending program won't work as advertised when it launches Friday. They say the Trump administration set unrealistic expectations and has failed to give banks what they need to issue the loans politico.com/news/2020/04/0… Banks are expecting millions of applications from small businesses on Friday. Some fear a disaster that could dwarf the failed kickoff of the Obamacare enrollment web site in 2013.

This House private equity hearing has so far alternated between moderate, business-friendly Democrats and PE-defending, Warren-bashing Republicans. Not hearing a ton about what's wrong with leveraged buyouts @AOC, calling out the elephant in the room, said she was "quite upset" by members' questions at today's private equity hearing. "I wasn't sent here to safeguard and protect profit," she said. "I was sent here to safeguard and protect people."