Las pequeñas empresas que se apresuraron en vano para aprovechar los $349 mil millones en préstamos de emergencia de EE.UU para sobrevivir a la crisis del coronavirus se enfrentan a una dura realidad: algunos de los principales bancos de la nación se quedaron por detrás de sus rivales relativamente pequeños en el manejo de las solicitudes.
Mientras los gigantes bancarios intentaban automatizar el proceso, cientos de empleados del prestamista de Texas, Cullen / Frost Bankers Inc., se ofrecieron como voluntarios para completar formularios manualmente, trabajando hasta altas horas de la noche en sus hogares para establecer préstamos por $3 mil millones. Eso contrasta con Wells Fargo & Co., que completó unos $120 millones para cuando el programa se agotó esta semana, según personas informadas sobre este proceso.
Esas cifras, que apenas comienzan a darse a conocer, seguramente provocarán más enojo por el caótico Programa de Protección de Cheques de Pago administrado por la Small Business Administration. Muestran que el principal banco de la nación, JPMorgan Chase & Co., procesó más préstamos que cualquier otro, como era de esperar. Pero se ubicó tan sólo varios miles de millones de dólares por delante de algunas empresas que son una fracción de su tamaño.
Las sorprendentes tasas de éxito de los prestamistas regionales y comunitarios sugieren que las empresas de todo el país obtuvieron dinero en función del banco que eligieron, en lugar de lo pronto que llegaron a la fila. Muchos emprendedores estaban desesperados por obtener ayuda del programa que funcionaba por orden de llegada y quedaron devastados esta semana al enterarse de que no recibirán ayuda a menos que el Congreso asigne más fondos.
“Es un proceso realmente emocional”, dijo Reese Howell, director ejecutivo de Celtic Bank en Utah. “Se preguntan cómo pagarán a sus empleados y cómo permanecerán en su negocio”.
Wells Fargo dijo en un comunicado el viernes que trabajó lo más rápido posible para obtener préstamos para los clientes al tratar de cumplir con los requisitos del programa. Prometió que estará listo para ayudar en el momento en que el Congreso asigne más fondos.
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Socially distanced bikers and walkers, against a backdrop of the Queen Mary, make their way along pedestrian and beach bike path on the first day that Long Beach reopened the path on Monday May 11, 2020. The city of Long Beach eased a few of its public health restrictions, allowing under certain guidelines the reopening of pedestrian and beach bike paths, tennis centers and courts. Beach bathrooms are also reopening, but the parking lots and beaches still remain closed. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
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Traffic remains light on the southbound 110 Freeway headed toward downtown Los Angeles on April 28. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dominique Barrett, center, known as “King Vader” to his 2.4 million TikTok followers, prepares to shoot a video on April 30 in Glendora. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Purcell of Redondo Beach rides a wave, glowing from the bioluminescence, in Hermosa Beach, CA, after midnight Friday morning, May 8. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
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Friends play spikeball, a game perfect for social distancing on an open but restricted San Buenaventura State Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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The majority of golfers are wearing masks while hitting balls on the driving range at Van Buren Executive Golf Course in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Beaches including Harbor Cove Beach were open but beachgoers were not supposed to be sitting on the sand. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Tango instructor Yelizaveta Nersesova leads a Zoom tango event from her Los Angeles home April 27 that brought together hundreds of dancers from around the world. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Grocery store workers, joined by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 770 representatives and community members, hold a rally in support of strict social distancing on May 1 at a Ralphs store in Hollywood where 19 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Mostly masked commuters keep their distance from one another on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles on April 29. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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Gregory Kuhl, 69, heads home after a shopping trip in Hollywood on April 28. Big cracks in the street, cars parked in driveways blocking sidewalks and uneven pavement levels make navigating his route difficult. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Tenants and their supporters from across Los Angeles gather at city hall to call on L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the L.A. City Council and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to cancel rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 crisis. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Aerial view of over 100 vehicles lined up at the West Valley COVID-19 testing center at Warner Center in Woodland Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Senior Mason Wise, left, helps his sister, Mackenzie, a sophomore, clean out her PE locker at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills. School officials were allowing no more than five students at a time on campus to take home their belongings. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Shuttered storefront businesses in the garment district of Los Angeles. California’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed since the statewide coronavirus shutdown took effect. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Healthcare workers celebrate as Claudia Martinez is discharged from the ICU after she recovered from COVID-19 at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Carson residents Kaeli Burks, 3, left, and her cousin Bailey Watson, 5, look out the window of their car after their mothers helped them with self-testing at a new drive-up testing site for COVID-19 in Carson. Free COVID-19 testing is available to all city residents thanks to a partnership between the city and US Health Fairs. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Norm and Tracy Kahn enjoy eating dinner outside on a small cafe table sitting in blue chairs on their side yard during the coronavirus pandemic on April 27 in Riverside. “During this pandemic, eating outside offers us an opportunity to change surrounding and appreciate the calmness of being outdoors among trees, scents from nature and the sounds of birds,” she said. Also adding, “Mixing up where we eat puts variety into our days and takes away the sameness of feeling trapped at home.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center nurses carry supplies outside the hospital. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Tom Sean Foley pauses on a walk with his kids, Cathelen Claire, “C.C.,” 3, and Timothy Joseph, 4, to take a photo in front of the “Love Wall,” mural by artist Curtis Kulig, outside of Smashbox Studios in Culver City. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters stand along Mission Blvd. in Pacific Beach during A Day of Liberty rally on April 26. The protesters were against the government shutdown due to the coronavirus. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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People make orders at a food truck along Shoreline Avenue in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Medical staff, wearing protective gear, work inside a COVID-19 isolation area inside the emergency department at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, where patients with the virus are being treated. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Neighbors practice social distancing while enjoying the nice weather near The Strand in Hermosa Beach. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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Counter-protesters attend a protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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A group of protesters cheer on cars during a vehicle caravan protest to call on state and local officials to reopen the economy in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation staff member Navi Cavaltera waters a flower pot put up by the community to show their support for the nursing staff of the facility in Yucaipa. Eighteen of 20 coronavirus-related deaths in Yucaipa were residents of the skilled nursing facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A pedestrian wearing a protective mask passes a mural on a store on Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Jonte Florence, a freestyle dancer, does a handstand on a mostly empty Hollywood Walk of Fame. Florence said he normally performs for hundreds of tourists along the busy street. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Tyrannosaurus rex overlooking the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue wears a protective mask while practicing social distancing. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Businesses are shuttered and pedestrians are few and far between on Hollywood Boulevard. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Daniel Rogerson wears a vintage military gas mask while riding a bike along the beach path in Santa Monica, which is closed to enforce social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A face mask seller in colorful dress appears to be part of a mural behind a bus stop on Soto Street in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Life around Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Soto Street has slowed down as California officials extended stay-at-home orders into May and residents entered Easter weekend with unprecedented limits on their movements. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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UC Irvine Medical Center health care workers return their gratitude as about 25 Orange County first responder vehicles participate in a drive-by parade of gratitude as they battle COVID-19 at the hospital. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Billy Budd, 55, of Hollywood, walks along Hollywood Boulevard with a protective face covering. Budd is a scenic artist for movies and television who is currently out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Stuart Reyes and his sister, Stephanie, sell masks for $5 each on the 3000 block of West Century Boulevard in Inglewood. Stuart Reyes said he is selling masks to support his mother. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A jogger runs on a closed trail past dozens of pieces of caution tape, torn off by hikers and mountain bikers at El Escorpion Canyon Park in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Alex Herron and nurse Mercy Pineda at a blood drive sponsored by USC athletics and the American Red Cross at USC’s Galen Center. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles City Hall displays blue lights to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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After being indoors for several days because of rainy weather and coronavirus stay-at-home orders, Olivia Jacobs, 4, and her mom, Cia Jacobs, enjoy a warm and sunny afternoon making chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of their home in West Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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An Oceanview Plaza security guard sports a whimsical mask while on patrol. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Jacob De Wilde, left, and Lesli Lytle load a car with food during a food distribution organized to mark Good Friday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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As a late season storm continues to make its way across the Southland, a young basketball player dribbles along an alley through an Elysian Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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People are silhouetted in a window of an apartment building in Hollywood, where a stay-at-home order remains in effect to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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The Wilshire Grand Center display blue lights and a heart to show support for healthcare workers and first responders. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Women wear masks as they stroll along Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Wearing masks while outdoors is mandatory in the city of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Patients are removed from Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center after 39 tested positive for the coronavirus and nursing staff was not showing up to work. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A specimen is turned in at the new mobile testing site for people with symptoms of the coronavirus at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Hippie Kitchen in Los Angeles hands out food, water and toiletries to homeless people and residents of skid row. Additionally, masks were offered to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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Nurses pose for a fun photo during a break in drive-through public testing for the coronavirus at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman shows a notice from her doctor that allows her to obtain a test for coronavirus at a new drive-up testing site in a parking lot at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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A person who wishes to remain anonymous strikes from her car to support McDonald’s employees who are demanding the company cover healthcare costs of any worker or immediate family member who gets sick from COVID-19 in Los Angeles. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Cassidy Roosen, with Beach Cities Health District, holds up a sign that says, “We’re All in This Together,” while waiting to direct cars at a drive-through, appointment-only coronavirus testing location at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Grace Carter, 15, of Riverside, practices a dance routine at home after dance classes and school were canceled. She has to use the Zoom app on her iPhone to practice with her dance group. “It’s hard,” she said. “My bedroom is a smaller space. I miss all my friends at the studio.” (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A man works from his home in Long Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A San Bernardino County healthcare worker takes a sample at a coronavirus drive-through testing site at the county fairgrounds in Victorville. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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A Metro general service employee disinfects a bench in Boyle Heights. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A runner jogs past the Pottery Barn in Pasadena. Some businesses in the area have boarded up their stores. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Raquel Lezama and daughter Monica Ramos collect meals for their family at Manual Arts High School. Lezama was laid off from her $17.76-an-hour job at a Beverly Hills hotel. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The Iron City Tavern in San Pedro tries an incentive to lure takeout customers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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Healthcare workers gather outside UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center to call for further action from the federal government in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Kristen Edgerle, of Victorville, collects information from a blood donor before drawing blood at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library blood drive during the coronavirus pandemic in Yorba Linda. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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Shauna Jin, of Los Angeles, with her dog, Bodhi, practices social distancing with John Kiss, of Los Angeles, at the entrance of Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A lending library had some additional useful items, including a roll of toilet paper and cans of beans and corn, in a Hermosa Beach neighborhood. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters drive by the Getty House, the home of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, in Hancock Park. Tenant advocates are demanding a total moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus crisis. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Venice residents Emily Berry and Gavin Kelley take a break at Venice Beach. Berry, a cocktail waitress at Enterprise Fish Co., lost her job due to the coronavirus outbreak. Kelley, a manager at a performing arts school with a focus on music, said that he still has a job and that classes at the school will resume online this coming Monday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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The JW Marriott at L.A. Live is sharing a message of hope with red lights in 34 windows, creating a 19-story display on the hotel’s north side. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Juan Diaz Jr., a lifelong Dodgers fan, prays that the season will start by May in front of Dodger Stadium on what would have been opening day. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Hayley, CEO and founder of Love My Neighbor Foundation, right, dances with Crystal Armster, 51, while she and her colleagues continue to feed the homeless on skid row amid the pandemic. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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A masked passenger on a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dede Oneal waits for a coronavirus test at the Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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A man in a mask passes a closed restaurant along Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Artist Corie Mattie paints a mural on the side of a pop-up store as a man takes a picture in West Hollywood. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Medical assistant Zoila Villalta works with Rosie Boston, 32, of Glendale, who is donating blood for her first time at L.A. Care Health Plan downtown. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple wait for a bus outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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With all Los Angeles schools closed until further notice, LAUSD buses sit idle in Gardena. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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A lone traveler makes his way to catch a flight in Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Denise Young looks on as her daughter, Allison, 9, a fourth-grader at EARThS (Environmental Academy of Research Technology and Earth Sciences) Magnet School in Newbury Park, receives a Chromebook. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Hollywood Boulevard is devoid of the usual crowds. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Michael Ray, 11, plays before a movie at the Paramount Drive-In. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Isabella Leader, 15, counts how many flags have been left for World War II veteran Lt. Col. Sam Sachs who was celebrating his 105th birthday at the Mom & Dad’s House, an assisted living facility, in Lakewood. Lt. Col. Sachs appealed to the public for birthday cards after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of a big celebration and wound up receiving thousands, including a letter and photo from President Trump. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“Se enviaron invitaciones para presentar una solicitud a más de 450.000 clientes con un monto total de préstamos hipotéticos de alrededor de $50 mil millones, que estamos listos para enviar al Small Business Administration para su aceptación”, dijo el banco con sede en San Francisco. Esa es “una cantidad comparable a la de nuestros pares”.
“Chase ha asegurado más fondos para las pequeñas empresas que cualquier otro en la industria, y estamos completamente preparados para ayudar a muchos, muchos más una vez que se apruebe el financiamiento adicional”, manifestó JPMorgan en un comunicado enviado por correo electrónico.
Los demócratas y el secretario del Tesoro, Steven T. Mnuchin, han luchado para llegar a un acuerdo sobre la expansión del programa. Mnuchin ha señalado que quiere agregar $251 mil millones, mientras que los demócratas clave han insistido en los cambios, así como en $250 mil millones adicionales para ayudar a los hospitales y los gobiernos estatales y locales.
Un informe publicado por la SBA y el Tesoro el viernes mostró que la mayor cantidad de financiamiento organizado por cualquier banco en nombre de los clientes fue de alrededor de $14 mil millones, aproximadamente el 4% del total disponible en el programa hasta el momento. El regulador no nombró ningún banco, pero JPMorgan confirmó que es el prestamista detrás de esa cifra.
El PNC Financial Services Group, con sede en Pittsburgh, procesó aproximadamente $9 mil millones en préstamos, según una persona con conocimiento del tema. KeyCorp, el segundo banco más grande de Ohio, dijo que organizó alrededor de $7.8 mil millones. Combinados, tienen menos de tres cuartos del número de sucursales que JPMorgan y sólo una quinta parte de sus activos.
Los ejecutivos de algunos de los bancos más grandes del país, hablando con la condición de anonimato, han estado expresando su profunda frustración durante semanas por recibir orientación de la administración del presidente Trump sobre cómo cumplir con el programa de rescate apresuradamente preparado. La SBA publicó las reglas iniciales la noche anterior al inicio del programa a principios de este mes.
Los grandes bancos que pagaron miles de millones de dólares en sanciones después de la crisis financiera de 2008 por fallas u omisiones en las solicitudes de préstamos, en ese caso, hipotecas, asumieron que los documentos presentados a la SBA tendrían que cumplir con altos estándares, o correrían el riesgo de volver a tener problemas. Wells Fargo ha estado bajo una presión particular para mostrar que revisó sus controles internos.
Algunos grandes bancos pasaron días tratando de obtener más orientación de la agencia sobre los elementos del proceso de solicitud, según personas con conocimiento de las conversaciones.
Mientras tanto, los ejecutivos de los principales bancos les dijeron a sus empleados que se aseguraran de que habían validado la información financiera de las pequeñas empresas antes de enviar paquetes al gobierno. Algunos se inmovilizaron cuando la SBA publicó un aviso en su sitio web el martes, confirmando que es necesario pero diciendo que “los prestamistas que no entendieron que estos pasos son indispensables” no necesitaban retirar las solicitudes ya presentadas. Eso esencialmente le dio una ventaja a los prestamistas que habían omitido ese paso que requiere mucho tiempo para obtener primero las aplicaciones de sus clientes.
La SBA ha dicho que, en estrecha colaboración con el Tesoro, lanzó un programa sin precedentes en sólo una semana y resolvió rápidamente los problemas identificados por prestamistas y prestatarios.
Los bancos comunitarios probablemente golpearon ‘primero’ porque estaban más dispuestos a actuar mientras esperaban información adicional, dijo Paul Merski, un funcionario de Independent Community Bankers of America que supervisa su trabajo con el Congreso. “Muchos bancos comunitarios independientes saltaron al programa muy rápidamente, simplemente asumieron el riesgo sin tener toda la orientación”, señaló. “Los bancos tienen que juzgar su propia tolerancia al riesgo para estos préstamos y la responsabilidad de quedarse atascado con empréstitos incobrables si no hicieron el papeleo correctamente”.
Algunos prestamistas más pequeños pueden haberse beneficiado de tratos pasados con la SBA.
LiveOak Bank, el prestamista más activo de la SBA en 2019, pasó dos semanas recopilando información de nómina de los clientes antes de que el programa se lanzara. Eso puede haber ayudado a que se aprobaran las solicitudes. La compañía declinó comentar el viernes sobre cuántas procesó o el financiamiento total que organizó.
Wells Fargo, que generalmente es uno de los principales prestamistas de la SBA, tuvo sus propios problemas cuando comenzó el programa de rescate.
El banco inicialmente se topó con una sanción impuesta por la Reserva Federal en 2018, limitando sus activos. Pero incluso después de que resolvió la restricción, el banco tuvo problemas para completar y enviar los paquetes de solicitud. Después de años de ser criticados por legisladores y reguladores por escándalos, sus gerentes tenían la intención de construir un sistema que cumpliera con las reglas del gobierno.
Los ejecutivos reconocieron el martes que se habían retrasado, pero dijeron que esperaban ponerse al día con sus rivales pronto. Dos días después, el programa oficialmente se quedó sin dinero.
“Dada la magnitud de la crisis que enfrenta el país, tenemos la esperanza de que el Congreso apruebe fondos adicionales para el PPP y continuaremos aceptando nuevas solicitudes para estar listos para proceder si eso sucede”, dijo la compañía en un comunicado el jueves.
La compañía Cullen / Frost, de menos del 50% del tamaño de Wells Fargo, tuvo problemas para que sus computadoras funcionaran sin problemas con los sistemas de la SBA, por lo que reunió a un ejército de empleados para manejar formularios. La mayoría se ofreció como voluntario y laboró desde su casa, donde se conectó en línea temprano en la mañana y trabajó hasta después del anochecer, contactando a los clientes directamente si tenían preguntas.
La empresa ajustó su proceso varias veces e implementó algún software para ayudar. Pero gran parte del trabajo se realizó a mano, reveló Phil Green, el CEO en una entrevista.
“Hemos procesado más solicitudes de las que recibimos en un año y medio, y lo hicimos en 10 días”, manifestó Green. “Tenías que luchar manualmente contra todo”.
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