Moore Financial Tips for Trying Times

If the spending limit on your credit card suddenly shrank, you’re not alone. Some banks have started to decrease consumers’ credit limits as the job and income losses spurred by the global coronavirus pandemic has increased the possibility that people could miss their monthly payments. Synchrony Financial, the company that backs many credit cards offered by retailers, is taking a closer look at card holders’ ability to repay amid the virus outbreak. “We’re continuing to utilize internal and credit bureau triggers to dynamically reevaluate the customer’s credit worthiness to manage credit exposure,” Brian Wenzel, Synchrony’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said during an earnings call last week. Other banks also said that they were evaluating borrowers’ credit limits at this time. Banks typically reduce a customer’s credit limit to minimize risk, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “When the economy goes bad, all the calculus changes,” Schulz sa...

NPR reports that the Treasury and the Small Business Administration said Wednesday that they would temporarily shut out big banks from the electronic loan portal used to submit applications for the government’s small business relief program.  The move applied to any lender with more than $1 billion in assets for an eight-hour time period starting 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to an email obtained by CNBC.  The agencies wanted to “to ensure access to the PPP loan program for the smallest lenders,” according to the email. The SBA's huge ETran loan application system had been gridlocked during the first two days of applications.  The move was made to allow the smaller banks the ability to have their loan applications moving into the SBA system. Big Banks Temporarily Shut Out of Small Business Loan Portal, Treasury and SBA Announce

We have heard that there suddenly are openings across the country for contact tracing jobs. We wondered what background is required to be hired as a contract tracer. We also wondered if there are local jobs available. Contract tracers are teams of public health workers — epidemiologists, nurses, trained citizens — identify new positive cases, track down their contacts and help both the sick person and those who were exposed isolate themselves. The estimates of people needed for these jobs across the country currently range from 100,000 to 300,000. First, we learned that NPR did a survey of the all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and DC, to learn what each state's need were. The 41 states that responded said they have 7,602 contract tracing workers now, and have plans to hire to a total of 36,587 staffers. Georgia was one of the states that didn't respond. See the full article here. We Asked All 50 States About Their Contact Tracing Capacity. Here's What We Learned Next, we...

Fannie Mae also announced on Monday that it will let mortgage borrowers benefit from forbearance programs without requiring a lump sum repayment with the crisis passes.  The announcement was made by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to 'combat ongoing misinformation' on borrower help.  The FHFA regulates the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs.  From Bloomberg Freddie Mac had announced earlier that it would not require lump sum payments, even though some banks are telling borrowers that they will them.  See our related post on April 28th.

The online application portal for a program to aid U.S. companies hit by the pandemic crashed minutes after opening on Monday.  It remained inaccessible for much of the day. This was the second time in a month that the relief effort, the Paycheck Protection Program, has encountered problems. After $342 billion in initial funding ran out in under two weeks, Congress approved an additional $310 billion. The government agency that runs the program, the Small Business Administration, said in a message to lenders that “unprecedented demand” was slowing the portal’s response. Source: New York Times, 4/28/20

A number of clients have told us that when they asked their lender about putting mortgage payments on hold for three months, they were told that they would have to pay the three-month payment amount as a lump sum at the end of that time.  This news yesterday about federally backed Freddie Mac mortgages eliminates the lump sum requirement.   Private mortgages may still be able to ask for the lump sum, however.   Mortgage News Daily ByJann Swanson Apr 27 2020, 11:52AM    Freddie Mac has laid out options that borrowers who have been granted forbearance on its loans have when it comes to repayment. The company's CEO David Brickman stressed that borrowers will never be asked to repay missed payments in one lump sum. March, the company, along with the other GSE Fannie Mae, announced several actions to assist homeowners facing financial hardship due to COVID-19. These...

National Law Review     By Lee Ann Anderson, David C Peck, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, GT Israel Law Blog Monday, April 27, 2020  Q. Assuming I properly received PPP funds, what can I spend it on?  A. The allowable uses of PPP loan funds are as follows: 75% of the PPP loan funds must be used for payroll costs for U.S. resident employees (salaries are capped at $100,000 per employee), The remaining 25% may be spent on: Costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical or family leave (other than qualified family or sick leave wages for which a credit is allowed under Sections 7001 or 7003 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act), and insurance premiums Payment of interest on any mortgage obligation (but not on any prepayment of principal) Rent Utilities Interest on any other debt incurred before ...

Mission-critical IRS employees are scheduled to return to work today, April 27th 2020. Tony Reardon, NTEU head, reported it will include 10,000 employees at 10 locations. It includes those who “open taxpayer correspondence, handle tax documents, take taxpayer telephone calls and perform other functions related to the filing season.” As an aside, they are to wear self-provided masks until such time as PPE is provided from the federal stockpile.

With the additional funding provided by the new COVID-19 relief package, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will resume processing EIDL Loan and Advance applications that are already in the queue on a first come, first-served basis on Monday morning at 10:30 am.  Several of our clients have received funds from the Payroll Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs. We believe this round of funding will only last for a few days and urge you to apply as soon as possible. Congress has said this will be the last funding available. To apply for the PPP loans, either reach out to your bank, or apply with one of the online lenders who is offering loans through the program. To apply for the EIDL loan, click on the link to the SBA. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/economic-injury-disaster-loan-emergency-advance The SBA will provide further information on the availability of the EIDL portal to receive new app...

The GET MY PAYMENT feature on the Treasury Department website appears to be now working.  If the IRS does not have your bank information and you want to enter it to have your stimulus check direct deposited, you can enter it here.   GET MY PAYMENT You will need to have your most recent tax return available to get identity information.

The SBA will resume accepting Paycheck Protection Program applications from participating lenders on Monday, April 27, 2020 at 10:30am EDT. With the additional funding provided by the new COVID-19 relief package, SBA will resume processing EIDL Loan and Advance applications that are already in the queue on a first come, first-served basis. The SBA will provide further information on the availability of the EIDL portal to receive new applications (including those from agricultural enterprises) as soon as possible. To learn more about the relief options available for your business, click here .

If you have business liability insurance coverage for your business, you may have business interruption coverage. Business interruption insurance helps protect against lost income after a covered disaster impacts a business.  Covered perils typically include theft, fire, wind, falling objects or lightning.  It is not clear whether the mandatory shutdowns caused by COVID-19 qualify as covered perils. Business interruption coverage can compensate you for lost income and for extra expenses caused by the disaster. To be safe, be sure to read your business insurance policy documents and check with your insurance agent to see if you have coverage.

USA TODAY reports that some stimulus checks are going out to people who died during 2018.  Nina Olsen, the founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and the former Taxpayer Advocate for the IRS, states she believes the family of the deceased can keep the funds. The mistakes probably occurred because of timing differences in social security and IRS records.  The IRS ha not formally released guidelines about what to do with the payments. See the full article here.  Stimulus checks are going out to people who have died, what that means for relatives