Citigroup CEO says bank is ‘working around the clock’ on small business relief

Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said the bank is “working around the clock” on an online portal for the new $349 billion small business relief program.

The program, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said will be up on Friday, is meant to enable struggling businesses to retain employees by applying for loans that are forgiven if used for workers’ payroll. It was a key part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill signed by President Trump last week.

The bank is “making sure that we’ve got the digital interface set up so that people can apply online, we can get the documentation we need online for the vast majority of these loans, and we can get this money into small businesses hands as quickly as we can,” Corbat said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. 

Banks have been flooded with inquiries from business owners about how the program will work, and small business loan experts have expressed concern that the program will take longer to get up and running than Mnuchin has said it would.  Lenders, who are being paid fees to administer the program on behalf of the Small Business Association, will face pressure to execute the program smoothly. 

“We are working around the clock to make sure that our portal is set up,” Corbat said. “Not just our business, but any business that wants to come to us for help and access to the program that we’re up and running to do that.”