Customers Bank of Wyomissing has named Jessie John Velasquez as senior vice president, chief accounting officer.

PNC Financial Services Group announced last week it would commit more than $1 billion to support internal and external social reforms for the cause of ending systemic racism and supporting economic empowerment of African Americans.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BTFP/NEP) said it is taking $1 million it received from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for COVID-19 relief efforts and putting it towards $1.4 million in emergency investments it is making in 18 regional startups.

Following the enactment of legislation that loosened requirements for borrowers to be forgiven for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, federal administrators this week launched a streamlined application form they say will make it easier for some borrowers to fully realize the forgiveness of their PPP loan.

Jill E. Gilbert, an Elizabethtown CPA and partner with the Lancaster-based consulting firm RKL LLP, was elected president of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) for the 2020-21 fiscal year at the institute’s June 12 annual meeting.

Customers Bank Chief Credit Officer Andrew Bowman has been promoted to the roles of senior executive vice president and member of the office of the chair, positions that will see him help make crucial decisions for the Wyomissing-based community bank’s strategic future.

Two Bethlehem companies were among the startups that received funding from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The National Energy Improvement Fund of Allentown, a B-Corp. energy efficiency lender, purchased the assets of My Strong Home PBC and its property and casualty insurance operation, MSH Services LLC.

State officials provided more guidelines for the $225 million small businesses grant program announced earlier this week, which officials say will start accepting applications by the end of June.

While many bank branches have either been closed or run with limited face-to-face interactions, behind the scenes, banks in the region say they have been busier with ever as they try to meet the needs of commercial and banking customers through the COVID-19 crisis.