Showcase brings together fintechs and community banks to service PPP loans
Washington, D.C. (May 21, 2020) — The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA), in partnership with AIR, the Alliance for Innovative Regulation, and The Venture Center, today presented 12 high-impact fintech solutions tailored to help community banks navigate the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for their small business customers. Hundreds of bankers, regulators and investors joined the virtual event featuring solutions to address calculating, tracking reporting and loan forgiveness PPP requirements.
As community banks continue to meet the needs of their customers in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis with PPP loans and other banking services, they are collaborating with fintechs for the next phase of the program that involves servicing these loans. Participating fintechs in today’s showcase were selected for their demonstrated ability to provide services that enhance these community bank services. After a five-minute product demo, company founders answered questions from a panel of community bank leaders, which included ICBA Chairman-elect Robert Fisher, president, CEO and chairman of Tioga State Bank; ICBA Vice Chairman Brad Bolton, president, CEO and senior lender at Community Spirit Bank; and ICBA Consolidated Holdings Chairman Jack Hartings, chairman of The Peoples Bank Co.
“The COVID-19 crisis is spotlighting the urgent need for technology innovation in financial regulation and compliance, both of which need to work faster, at less cost, and with more accuracy,” said Jo Ann Barefoot, AIR CEO and co-founder. “AIR is delighted to work with ICBA and The Venture Center on this to help community banks explore new technology solutions for the loan forgiveness stage of the Paycheck Protection Program.”
“Community banks have been heroic in their efforts to support their local small businesses in need of PPP loans and the collaboration and innovation with fintechs has been pivotal to addressing the banking challenges and needs brought to bear by the COVID crisis,” said ICBA’s Chief Innovation Officer Charles Potts. “This showcase helps highlight those important connections as community bankers embark on the next phase in the PPP loan forgiveness process.”
The Venture Center’s Executive Director Wayne Miller responded, “Strong relationships between community banks and fintechs serve to strengthen our communities from the ground level up. The companies selected for the PPP Tech showcase have proven themselves to be agile and customer focused, and we are confident in their ability to help bankers as they help local small businesses survive this pandemic and thrive in the aftermath. We’re proud to play a role in this critical effort.”
Participating fintechs that were highlighted during today’s showcase include:
- Abrigo
- Cirrus Secure
- CLA Connect
- Finsynch
- Fundation
- Numerated
- Proseeder & EXL Service
- Q2
- Spark
- Steetshares
- Teslar
- Zenoo
To learn more about the participating companies, please visit www.venturecenter.co/ppptech.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® creates and promotes an environment where community banks flourish. With more than 50,000 locations nationwide, community banks constitute 99 percent of all banks, employ nearly 750,000 Americans and are the only physical banking presence in one in three U.S. counties. Holding more than $5 trillion in assets, nearly $4 trillion in deposits, and more than $3.4 trillion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community, community banks channel local deposits into the Main Streets and neighborhoods they serve, spurring job creation, fostering innovation and fueling their customers’ dreams in communities throughout America. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
About AIR
About AIR - the Alliance for Innovative Regulation: The Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR) focuses on accelerating the digital transformation of financial regulation. We generate thought leadership, connect and educate regulators, and run a policy accelerator to test and implement new regulatory technologies. For more information, visit www.regulationinnovation.org or join our community through Twitter or LinkedIn.
About The Venture Center
The Venture Center’s immersive accelerator programs are designed to accelerate the growth of early-stage companies and help them validate their solutions for real-world problems. Our methodology provides a unique opportunity to connect with community bank executives, receive seed investment and learn from a comprehensive curriculum that will aid in strategically addressing go-to-market, business, and finance challenges.
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