WYOMISSING, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Customers Bank (NYSE:CUBI) has processed loan applications totaling more than $200 million to help save American businesses and is expanding its capacity to process loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

When the national disaster was announced on March 13, Customers Bank pledged to put $200 million to work restoring the American economy. In just the past four days, the bank met that goal.

PPP is chief among the tools used by the Bank’s SBA Government Guaranteed Lending and Small Business teams to get capital flowing in the economy. In just one week, the bank has accepted 500 applications, processing 300 of them so far for submittal to the Small Business Administration. These PPP loans make up the lion’s share of disaster lending to date.

“We are proud to be playing a role in the recovery of the American economy,” said Jay Sidhu, Executive Chairman of Customers Bank. “Our team members have been working around the clock to get these loan applications processed. We know small business needs help and we will deliver for them using OakNorth’s solution to support them from application throughout the entire forgiveness journey.”

PPP is the hallmark of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act adopted by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on Friday, March 27 with the express purpose of helping Americans and the organizations that employ them weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the ensuing weeks, demand for the loans has been overwhelming creating capacity issues for many banks. Customers Bank Chief Operating Officer Sam Sidhu worked to apply technology to open bottlenecks. “We are pleased to be partnering with British fintech OakNorth to apply advanced software strategies and algorithms to create a smooth online application process that uses big data to help us speed underwriting while reducing risk,” said Sam Sidhu. “OakNorth was able to get the solution up and running within 72 hours from our first conversation, so we will have an integrated online application system deployed by Monday.”

Customers Bank is one of the top regional banks for SBA government guaranteed lending and is leveraging that expertise to serve clients across the USA, reported President & CEO Richard A. Ehst. “We want businesses throughout the nation to know we are available to help them navigate the complexities of the SBA loan process.”

The PPP provides financial assistance in the form of a “loan” of up to $10 million, but large portions of the “loans” will be forgiven if payroll is maintained during the crisis or restored by June 30, 2020.

Eligible businesses can apply for an amount up to 250% of average monthly payroll, subject to some limitations.

The loan funding can be used to meet payroll, buy health benefits, pay rent and utilities, or pay the interest on a mortgage or qualifying debt.

“PPP is very attractive, and every American business should use these loans to keep their team members working and with health benefits,” said Jay Sidhu.

PPP is broadly inclusive. Applicants can be C-corps, S-corps, Limited Liability Company, Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships, Sole Proprietorships, or Independent Contractors. Non-profit organizations are eligible.

The most important eligibility criterion is that the applicant has fewer than 500 total employees. Special consideration for the hard-hit accommodations and food service industries.

According to SBA guidance, no collateral or personal guarantees required. The forgiven loan amount will not be considered as income and will not be taxed.

To earn forgiveness, a borrower must be able to document that funds were used appropriately. According to guidance from the SBA and US Treasury, funds used to meet payroll and buy benefits are likely to be entirely forgiven, but forgiveness on funds used for rent, utility or debt is likely to be capped at 25% of the total loan.

There are no loan payments for six months. The unforgiven loan amount is amortized over the remaining 18 months at 1.0% interest. The borrower does not pay a loan origination fee.

“Our software solution coupled with our topflight and highly experienced small business lenders will make the difference,” commented Ehst. “We want to complete at least 500 more PPP loans and get Americans back to work.”

Customers Bank and OakNorth announced a technology partnership earlier this week: .

For more information, see:

About Customers Bank

Customers Bank, a subsidiary of Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, is a full-service bank with assets of approximately $11.5 billion at December 31, 2019. A member of the Federal Reserve System with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a range of banking and lending services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families. Services and products are available wherever permitted by law through mobile-first apps, online portals, and a network of offices and branches. Customers Bancorp, Inc.’s voting common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUBI. Additional information can be found on the company’s website, .

About OakNorth

OakNorth is the next-generation credit analysis and monitoring Platform which enables banks around the world to more effectively address the financing needs of the Missing Middle – the growth business who are the backbones of communities and economies globally but who have been in banking’s blind spot for decades.

The Platform leverages machine learning, decades of credit expertise and massive data sets (including unconventional and previously unavailable data) to model a forward-looking view of a borrower’s financial situation, that’s informed by industry benchmarks, macroeconomic drivers, and scenario analysis specific to that business. It currently has over $17bn of assets under service.

What this means for OakNorth’s commercial banking clients:

• The way borrowing should be – loans that are customised for the borrower’s individual needs and completed in days or weeks vs months, leading to accelerated revenue and business growth
• More attractive economics & scaled growth – origination and credit teams who can transact several times more deals per year
• Insight and foresight without the noise – larger data sets and deeper analysis enable more informed credit decisions and proactive portfolio monitoring delivers better credit outcomes

Since its inception, OakNorth has secured over $1bn from leading investors, including: Clermont Group, Coltrane, EDBI of Singapore, GIC, Indiabulls, NIBC, Toscafund, and SoftBank.

Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman founded OakNorth in 2015 to address the challenges they faced in securing debt finance from high street banks for their previous business, Copal Amba (which scaled to c.3,000 employees and was acquired by Moody’s Corporation in 2014).

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