U.S. Economic News
December 14, 2020
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, small banks have performed surprisingly well during the pandemic-induced recession, benefitting from the large share of government stimulus that has ended up at community banks and boosted deposits and loans. While the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases and expiration of many federal aid programs poses risks to the entire banking sector, both large and small banks have historically high capital levels to help them absorb potential loan losses. WSJ
Bloomberg reports that a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is expected to unveil a $908 billion pandemic relief plan Monday afternoon. The two-part proposal is an attempt to allow less controversial aspects of the plan – such as small business relief and unemployment benefits – to move forward while giving lawmakers more time to hash out the details of liability protections for employers and aid for state and local governments. Bloomberg