A lawsuit filed against America’s four biggest banks alleges that the banks prioritized PPP loans for larger businesses than smaller businesses, as reported by CNN.
The four banks in question are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and U.S. Bank. The lawsuit was filed by a group of small businesses in California, which claimed that the four banks were collectively handing out Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans emergency loans to larger businesses in order to make more money back.
According to the lawsuit, the banks “concealed from the public that it was reshuffling the PPP applications it received and prioritizing the applications that would make the bank the most money.” This move ended up with many small businesses in need of such loans being “left with nothing.”
The money in question was set to come from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill that was passed into law last year, which included funding for small businesses via the PPP. The U.S. Senate last night passed another coronavirus relief bill, providing another $300 billion for small businesses.