Week of July 6

In This Issue…

• Second phase of Oklahoma Business Relief Program slated to start on July 14
• SBA releases public data on Paycheck Protection Program
• Secret Service, Department of Labor, release info on unemployment insurance fraud
• Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame taking nominations for 2020 inductees – deadline is next week!
• OBA education corner …
  

Second phase of Oklahoma Business Relief Program slated to start on July 14

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce announced a second phase of the Oklahoma Business Relief Program, which will begin later this month.

Phase II of the OBRP is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 14.

Another $50 million has been designated for use in the Program. Additionally, when sending in OBRP applications, the Department of Commerce mentioned frequent errors in the documentation slowing the process:

• Signatures are not present on all documents. Sometimes from business and sometimes from PFI.
• Missing documents or wrong documents.  For example, some PFI may have submitted duplicate rules and forgotten to attach the pre-application.
• Initials from company missing on each of the Rules pages.
• Missing payroll or revenue information from pre-application.

Developed to help local businesses across the state overcome the economic challenges of COVID-19, the Oklahoma Business Relief Program offered vital funding for businesses that have suffered revenue loss due to the pandemic. The Program began on June 29 and lasted until the initial $50 million was depleted a few days later. More than 150 financial institutions received applications from more than 2,400 Oklahoma businesses during the first phase – 24% of which were minority owned.

Oklahoma businesses can request to apply for OBRP through participating financial institutions. The financial institutions will evaluate applications based on the program rules and determine if the business is eligible. Approved applications will be submitted by the financial institution to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and funds will be provided to the business through the financial institution.

For more information on the OBRP, visit the dedicated web page on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s website by clicking here.

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SBA releases public data on Paycheck Protection Program

The Small Business Administration released public data Monday on Paycheck Protection Program participants, including borrowers and lenders, as of June 30.

For loans $150,000 and above, the SBA disclosed the name and location of the business receiving the loan, the number of employees benefiting, the name of the lender, the congressional district of the borrower and a range where the loan amount falls. For loans below $150,000, SBA did not release borrower names but did include precise loan amounts. The public data set did not include information on PPP loans that were canceled.

You can click here to view the data.

As of June 30, Oklahoma financial institutions made 64,277 loans worth more than $5.4 billion.

A total of approximately $131 billion of PPP funding is still available as of today, and with a new law that was signed by President Trump this weekend, the program will remain operational until Aug. 8.

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Secret Service, Department of Labor, release info on unemployment insurance fraud

The U.S. Secret Service, along with the U.S. Department of Labor, has released additional information on unemployment insurance fraud, and other COVID-19-related fraud activity.

This advisory provides an update to alerts previously distributed through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

You can click here to read the advisory.

Additionally, the Secret Service released keyword search info for banks. Click here to download the file.

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Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame taking nominations for 2020 inductees – deadline is next week!

The OBA will be taking nominations for 2020 Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame inductees through the middle of July.

The Hall of Fame was created by the OBA Board of Directors to honor individual bankers for their contributions to the banking industry and the State of Oklahoma.

In addition, the Hall of Fame is intended to recognize bankers’ achievements on behalf of the Association’s member banks.

• Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame overview.
• Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame nomination instructions.
• Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame nomination form.

Bankers make a difference in their communities every day. To rise to the level required for induction into the Hall of Fame, the nominating committee for the Hall will examine whether the individual banker has made a difference beyond their local community. The Hall of Fame will also preserve the unique history of Oklahoma’s banking greats.

The following criteria will be considered by the nominating committee when selecting individuals to be nominated for selection to the Hall of Fame:

• Affiliation (past or present) with an Association member bank.
• Service on boards or committees of the Association.
• Participation in the activities of banker trade associations at the national level, such as the American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America.
• Contributions to the development, improvement and growth of the banking industry in Oklahoma.
  Whether the individual has had a significant impact on the manner in which financial services are provided to consumers.
• The individual has demonstrated the importance of community involvement and participation in the work of various community groups at the local, state and national levels.
• The number of years of service to the state and the industry.

Nominations for induction into the Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame may be made by any bank employee of an OBA-member bank. There is no limit on the number of nominees that can be presented to the nominating committee in any given year. Nominees may be either living or deceased.

Nomination forms are available by clicking here and can also be obtained by calling the Association (405/424-5252) or emailing info@oba.com. Anyone who was on the ballot previously but not elected will automatically be included with applications received this year for ballot selection by the Nominating Committee. They don’t need to do anything but are welcome to ‘update’ their application if they’d like. The application and other helpful information are available on our website.

Note: The deadline for receipt of applications is July 15, 2020.

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OBA education corner …