The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program provided forgivable loans to help businesses survive the COVID-19 economic collapse. But that wasn’t enough. About four million small businesses closed permanently in 2020, and many needed other options, like modifications to outstanding loans and credit card debt. New research from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) found that Black and Latino small business owners had less access to those options than White small business owners.
Resource Category: Minorities
San Francisco Entrepreneurs of Color Fund
San Francisco Entrepreneurs of Color Fund: Creating a Continuum of Capital and Consulting The Aspen Institute First published October 2020 Structural inequities—both historical and current—have created barriers for entrepreneurs of color to build wealth and grow their businesses. The San Francisco Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (SFEOCF) seeks to address these inequities by creating a more
Banks Response to Racism and COVID-19
Given the financial sector’s history of systemic exclusion and discrimination, the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) worked together to analyze banking relief that is currently being made available to consumers and borrowers, identify gaps and best practices, and outline recommendations for financial institutions and policymakers on how to dismantle systemic racism in banking and to reimagine relief and reforms that banks should embrace.
COVID-19’s Effects in Black Communities
The effects of the pandemic on small businesses amid forced closings, modified re-openings, and weakened demand, are well documented. Black businesses experienced the most acute decline, with a 41 percent drop. This brief examines the reasons why Black firms have been almost twice as likely to shutter as small firms overall.
Lending Discrimination within PPP
Since March 2020, businesses in the U.S. have been struggling to continue operations in the face of a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a recession because of the widespread closures of non-essential businesses enacted to reduce the spread of the virus. Even as things begin to reopen, people are less likely to go out due to possible health risks. In response, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP is a lending program that provides money, in a potential grant format, to small businesses to help them weather the economic effects of the pandemic. The majority of the loan needs to be allocated for employee salaries and then the remainder can be used for other business expenses like rent and loan payments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the disparities in small business lending we have detected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic continued with implementation of the PPP program.
A New Rating System for CRA
NCRC developed a new ratings system for quantitative measures on banks’ community development financing under CRA. Our suggested ratings could increase community development lending and investment between $15 billion to $28 billion annually.
Minority-Owned Businesses Hit Hardest by Pandemic
This fact sheet shows that across the United States, businesses owned by Black, Latinx, and Asian people have closed down at an alarming rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between February and April of 2020 alone, more than 3 million small businesses closed down across the country. Businesses owned by people of color, women, and immigrants have been most severely harmed, closing down faster than the national average
COVID-19’s Effect on Minority Small Businesses
Whether by necessity or ingenuity, minority-owned small businesses may be giving us an early sign of how US businesses will adapt in the wake of COVID-19. These businesses are experimenting with new ways of working to ensure their employees’ safety, offering monetary relief to employees and community members, and introducing new services such as free delivery to those who need it.
2018 Annual Business Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau released new estimates showing 1.1 million employer firms were owned by women and 1.0 million by minorities. According to the 2018 Annual Business Survey (ABS), covering year 2017, 5.6% (322,076) of all U.S. businesses were Hispanic-owned and 6.1% (351,237) were owned by veterans.
Economically Vulnerable Neighborhoods to COVID-19
This report and its accompanying interactive map show the vulnerability of every U.S. neighborhood to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.