Working Woman Report, May 3, 2021, Rampant Racial Disparities Plagued How PPP Loans Were Distributed In The U.S.
PPP rules disfavored businesses without employees and required Social Security numbers and other records that some small entrepreneurs lack. Banks focused on existing and wealthier customers without conducting adequate outreach to communities of color, according to a congressional investigation. Jesse Van Tol, chief executive of the fair lending group National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said the disparities show that banks failed to live up to a 44-year-old federal law that requires them to equitably serve all communities where they do business. The racial disparities in the PPP rollout may not be patently illegal, Van Tol said, because the law has limited mechanisms for accountability. But of the disparities, he said: “Is it fair? No. Is it equitable? No. Does it violate the spirit of the Community Reinvestment Act? Absolutely.”
