As the US financial system works to address the financial challenges of COVID-19, it is very clear that bigger is not better. The New York Times on 23 June 2020 featured an article on Cross River Bank. What makes this bank even more interesting is its business model that partners with a variety of fin-tech firms to serve customers. The article notes that Cross River has had challenges over the years with some of its activities, but its model is one which should be considered as an alternative. Cross River was able to provide more than 106,000 small businesses with access to the Paycheck Protection Program for a total of $4.7 billion. As the lending should ultimately be repaid through the government program, the primary risk is likely to be operational to ensure that the loans were properly made and that they should be forgiven under the program.
