PULLING TOGETHER: With Congress supplying the money, N.C. banks moved quickly to aid enterprises whose survival is on the line.

Bankers don't save lives directly such as doctors and nurses, but the sense of gratification involved in helping small businesses survive the lightning-fast economic collapse this spring bore some similarities.

That sentiment came through clearly when BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA assembled three of the state's bank presidents and two industry experts for a round table discussion in early May.

"The tears and joy that these [business owners] are feeling from getting these funds so they can pay their employees and live another day, it's almost like a doctor saving someone's life," says Brian Reid, TowneBank's Triangle bank president. "In my 30 years of banking, I've never seen anything like it. And I'd kind of like to never see it again."

Jim Hansen, regional president of PNC Financial Services in Raleigh, has a wide perspective with more than 150 branches in North Carolina. "The global pandemic has affected the smallest to the largest businesses and consumers across the state. With our footprint across North Carolina, we see and feel that from all comers," he says. "And everyone has stepped forward to meet the needs of North Carolina businesses."

The N.C. Bankers Association includes 84 banks, "and this is a beautiful random sampling of our community of bankers who are waking up every day with a sense of purpose," says Peter Gwaltney, president and CEO of the Raleigh-based group. "[They] are helping small businesses despite whatever challenge was thrown at them."

"Everyone" includes Congress, which passed a massive spending bill that included the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, on March 18. Within two weeks, about $350 billion had been extended to businesses with 500 or fewer employees that pledged to use the money to maintain payroll and pay basic business expenses. The lending followed nearly around-the-clock work where banks collaborated with businesses to submit applications for the funds.

Demand was so great that Congress extended another funding round of $310 billion. Megabanks like Charlotte-based Bank of America and small-community lenders including Albemarle-based Uwharrie Bank enlisted staffers from other departments to handle the flood of requests for the unprecedented loans.

Through May 16, about 109,000 N.C. companies and nonprofits had received loans totaling $12.3 billion. The money is forgivable, provided recipients follow rules established by the U.S. Treasury and Small Business Administration.

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