The Small Business Administration has bumped up to 1% the interest rate lenders may charge small businesses under a $350 billion U.S. relief program after lenders complained that the previous approved rate of 0.5% was below even their own cost of funds.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza released additional guidelines for the program just a few hours before it is expected to become widely available Friday. Banks and other lenders that are key to carrying it out had said they lacked guidance on how to complete the loans, including what documentation is required from borrowers and how to verify it.
