Congress passes stimulus deal with community bank-advocated provisions

Dear Community Banker:

ICBA and community bankers have done it again. Congress just passed emergency stimulus legislation that includes ICBA-advocated provisions benefiting community bank customers and communities nationwide.

After months of relentless advocacy by ICBA, community bankers, and even many of your small business customers, we should be extremely proud of our work, which forged these vital policies that will support consumers and small businesses amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The ICBA-advocated provisions in the stimulus package will:

• Simplify Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness.
• Fully forgive Economic Injury Disaster Loan advances, ending the EIDL debt trap.
• Support a new round of PPP lending.
• Allow tax deductibility of business expenses paid with PPP funds.
• Extend troubled debt restructuring (TDR) relief.
• Provide agricultural sector support.

A more detailed summary prepared by ICBA is available here. You can also view our national news release.

As the leading PPP lenders and job savers, community banks have once again proven themselves to be financial first responders and advocates of common-sense policies supporting local communities. Through tens of thousands of phone calls and direct messages to your members of Congress, you made your voices heard, community bankers, and once again Washington paid attention.

As a next step, ICBA will work closely with policymakers to implement these policies as quickly as possible. We thank you for all you have done to support these crucial measures and all you continue to do to meet the needs of your communities.

Rebeca Romero Rainey is ICBA president and CEO.