NewsWatch Today

ICBA is calling on community bankers to complete its State of Advocacy survey to help identify new and existing community banker relationships with members of Congress.

ICBA's next Community Bank Briefing with an update from Washington is set for 2 p.m. (Eastern time) this Thursday, Jan. 28.

The Government Accountability Office will be surveying a sample of Paycheck Protection Program lenders in the coming weeks to gather feedback about their experiences with the program.

The SBA on Saturday said it is working to ensure the Paycheck Protection Program appropriately accounts for the changes that businesses may have undergone since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Treasury Department announced plans to help the up to 8 million households that have not yet been able to access either round of Economic Impact Payments.

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary. The committee vote sends Yellen's nomination to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote, which is scheduled for tonight.

ICBA said it supports Nacha's plan to raise the individual same-day ACH transaction limit from $100,000 to $1 million in 2022. However, ICBA urged Nacha to assess the impact of such an increase before proceeding with its plan to remove dollar limits altogether in 2024.

The IRS this week issued guidance clarifying that SBA payments on existing 7(a) and 504 loans under Section 1122 of the CARES Act are no longer considered taxable income to the borrower.

President Joe Biden named agency heads serving in an acting capacity until permanent leadership is confirmed by the Senate.

ICBA encouraged the OCC to rescind its proposal to require national banks over $2.5 billion in assets to complete an Information Collection Survey to establish benchmarks for its 2020 Community Reinvestment Act rule.

President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Treasury Department official Michael Barr for comptroller of the currency, according to reports from Politico and other news outlets citing anonymous sources.

Community bankers have reported problems with NewsWatch Today links to the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program resources, including application forms and rules.