On April 14, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it would host three listening sessions to discuss issues related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
The PPP is a lending program with a sizable forgiveness component. The loans are made by banks and certain nonbank lenders in accordance with the rules and guidance issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Because the PPP is an entirely new program created on a highly compressed timeline, there are still some ambiguities around its operations that lenders continue to encounter.
The OCC's Office of Innovation is hosting the listening sessions, and each will focus on unresolved issues and potential solutions related to a different aspect of the PPP:
- Payroll verification – Thursday, April 16 – 11:00a to 1:00p (EDT)
Discussion on methods to increase the speed and efficiency of payroll verification for PPP loans during loan application and monitoring processes - Fraud identification – Monday, April 20 – 1:00p to 3:00p (EDT)
Discussion on solutions for more effective and efficient identification of PPP fraud, including loan stacking (i.e., receiving PPP loans from more than one lender) - Backend processes – Tuesday, April 21 – 1:00p to 3:00p (EDT)
Discussion on solutions and potential challenges entities may face in monitoring PPP loans and during the loan forgiveness process.
Usually, the OCC focuses on its national bank and federal savings association constituents, but the Office of Innovation also wants to hear from fintech companies that may have developed innovative approaches to these issues. Lenders or fintechs interested in providing their views should contact innovation@occ.treas.gov and indicate which call they want to join.