Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions has added an important new feature to its widely used Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Supported by TSoftPlus™ solution, which is designed to help U.S. banks, credit unions and other lenders support small businesses with payroll funding during the COVID-19 crisis.

Loan Application Importer “allows lenders to quickly and efficiently import their loan applications into TSoftPlus without rekeying the data, saving time and reducing errors,” the company said in a statement. This new functionality makes it possible for lenders to process the backlog of hundreds or thousands of PPP loan applications they may have received, providing urgently needed payroll funding to small businesses in communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Backlogs have been a widely reported problem for many lenders.

Timely and accurate processing is critical, industry observers note, due to the 10-day funding requirement lenders must meet for disbursement of PPP loans approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA), as set out by the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act.

Wolters Kluwer’s Paycheck Protection Program Supported by TSoftPlus solution, launched on April 3, has sparked an “extraordinary level of interest from lenders”, the company says. Many lenders typically process only a few SBA loans per year, and are now receiving hundreds or thousands of applications per day due to the PPP. 

Paul Lyon, Global Director of Corporate Communications for the company’s Banking & Regulatory Compliance business lines, confirms that since the launch, “hundreds of lenders have signed up to use the solution, which can quickly help them eliminate their application backlogs”. He adds that “this functionality is helping some lenders achieve as much as a 20 fold productivity gain, compared with using the SBA site, enabling them to quickly and efficiently meet the needs of their small business customers.”

Lenders can access the Paycheck Protection Program solution with no upfront costs, and can be processing loans within hours after signing up to meet the urgent needs of small businesses in their local communities. The solution also includes free training, webinars with Wolters Kluwer’s compliance experts, as well as the company’s award-winning, U.S.-based customer support services.

For 20 years, TSoftPlus software has provided a reliable, compliant platform for lenders of all sizes to participate in SBA loan programs, and it now includes support for the limited-time SBA Paycheck Protection Program that is part of the CARES Act. The SaaS-based solution connects directly to SBA’s E-Tran portal for loan processing and servicing, enabling lenders to process loans for small businesses with greater speed, confidence and compliance. With streamlined data entry along with the new Loan Application Importer feature, TSoftPlus speeds the process of creating the loan application, promissory note, and other documentation as required by the SBA for PPP loans.

“Given the challenges that COVID-19 is presenting to employers across the country, we recognized that many lenders of all sizes are facing application interest that far exceeds their existing loan processing capacity, limiting their small business customers’ access to the CARES Act emergency funds to keep employees on the payroll,” said Steve Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions in a company statement. “We are thrilled that just over a week after launching the PPP loan functionality in TSoftPlus, hundreds of banks and credit unions are relying on our technology and compliance experts to get small businesses the funding they need during this unprecedented crisis. Just as importantly, we are proud to be playing a key role in making a difference to so many small business employees.”

 Lyon adds that Paycheck Protection Program Supported by TSoftPlus is “one of several solutions launched by Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division in response to the COVID-19 crisis”. This includes the COVID-19 Noteworthy Developments Bulletins, which aggregates COVID-19 related global regulatory changes, orders, notices and other informational updates for the financial services industry. The division has also launched a COVID-19 resource center to provide businesses and law firms with international, federal and state legislative updates.

As previously reported The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is designed to support millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses. Under this program Eeligible small businesses may qualify for a loan up to $10 million determined by eight weeks of prior average payroll. Loan payments will be deferred for at least six months and if small business employers maintain their workforce, SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll and certain other expenses following loan origination.

According to Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, regulatory compliance and risk challenges remain high in a number of key areas for U.S. banks and credit unions. The company’s 2019 Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator survey, released in December 2019, generated a Main Indicator Score of 95, a 10-point increase from the 2018 score, that was influenced by concerns about the impact of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rules; cybersecurity, credit and compliance risks; and an increased level of regulatory agency fines. Pressures caused by the current COVID 19 are likely to exacerbate such concerns.

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions provides risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. banks and credit unions, insurers and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division “helps these financial institutions efficiently manage compliance obligations tied to loan and deposit origination transactions and workflows, manage risk and other regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.” Impressively the business won 30 awards in 2019 – a record year for independent industry recognition.

The GRC division of Wolters Kluwer  “provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes.” GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance.  Wolters Kluwer is a global information services and solutions provider for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of €4.6 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, says it serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide.