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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>WOW! Look at this article! This explains it. The big fish got taken care of first. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/20/small-businesses-sue-chase-bank-over-handling-stimulus/5163654002/"><span style='color:blue'>https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/20/small-businesses-sue-chase-bank-over-handling-stimulus/5163654002/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>Paul Napolitano<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>President, Two Sons Environmental<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>Office 516 922 3653<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>Cell 516 287 4159<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><a href="http://www.twosonsenv.com/"><span style='color:blue'>www.TwoSonsEnv.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=283 height=169 style='width:2.9444in;height:1.7638in' id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D61742.47BD0A60" alt="cid:image003.jpg@01CC1534.86855730"><b><span style='font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.5pt;line-height:33.0pt;background:white'><b><span style='font-size:31.5pt;font-family:"Arial Nova",sans-serif;color:#303030'>Chase and other banks shuffled Paycheck Protection Program small business applications, lawsuit says<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial Nova",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2648017001/dalvin-brown/"><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#303030'>Dalvin Brown</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:15.0pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>USA TODAY</span><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:white'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the share of processing fees Chase would receive, according to a lawsuit.</span></i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Two companies in California filed a class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase bank alleging unfair business practices toward some small businesses that applied for coronavirus-related loans under the government's Paycheck Protection Program.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>In the suit filed on Sunday, a cybersecurity firm and event planning company accused Chase Bank of prioritizing small business borrowers who were seeking larger loan amounts rather than processing the government-sponsored loan applications on a first-come, first-served basis as advertised. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The move meant that Chase and other banks would collect larger processing fees – nearly $6 billion in total – by frontloading the queue with businesses seeking higher loans, according to the lawsuit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The businesses seeking lower loans were deprioritized, so many didn't get the aid they were entitled to, the lawsuit filed on behalf of small businesses said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The legal action is<a href="https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/kJhIt2f0iC" target="_blank"><span style='color:#303030'> one in a series</span></a> of lawsuits lodged by small businesses against <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/19/wells-fargo-lawsuit-small-business-ppp-loans/5162801002/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#303030'>big banks such as Wells Fargo</span></a>, Bank of America and Bancorp citing unfair business practices and false advertising. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The loans were a part of a $349 billion emergency small business lending program meant to keep businesses afloat and staffers employed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The government-backed forgivable loan plan kicked off on April 3 and ran out of money less than two weeks later on April 16. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>"Chase concealed from the public that it was reshuffling the PPP applications it received and prioritizing the applications that would make the bank the most money," the lawsuit said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Chase bank wasn't immediately available for comment. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Chase updated a statement to small business customers on its website on April 19, the day the lawsuit in California was filed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>"I also understand that many of you are frustrated that you applied early in the process, but that SBA funding ran out before you could receive a loan," said Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Business Banking. "We want you to know that we are working to make sure as many of our Business Banking customers receive loans as possible."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Eighty percent of PPP loans processed through Chase went to businesses with less than $5 million in revenue. About half went to small businesses with less than $100,000, the bank said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>The proof of Chase prioritizing larger borrowers lies in numbers provided by <a href="https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/PPP%20Deck%20copy.pdf" target="_blank"><span style='color:#303030'>the Small Business Administration,</span></a> the lawsuit alleges. In the past three days, before the PPP loan money ran out, banks allegedly processed loan applications for $150,000 and under at twice the rate of larger loans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>This would suggest that banks prioritized applications for the largest loans early on, otherwise "the percentage change of applications submitted in the last three days of the program would be consistent among all application types," the plaintiffs claim.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:10.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:20.25pt;background:white'><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'>Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dalvin_brown" target="_blank"><span style='color:#303030'>@Dalvin_Brown. </span></a></span></i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia Pro",serif;color:#303030'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>