While much of the discussion on the economy’s post-pandemic future has been negative, a recent flash poll conducted by Herbein + Co. of Wyomissing shows surprising optimism among business leaders in the Mid-Atlantic.

Requirements for small businesses to be forgiven for federal paycheck protection loans are at the center of lobbying efforts to revise the program’s guidelines by industry leaders who say the aid package fails to address sector-specific challenges of the coronavirus recession.

The owner of the family-operated Chaar, a Lehigh Valley-based chain of pet supply stores, said his company was thriving in the opening months of 2020. Then, the COVID-19 crisis hit. Chaar disagrees with the state's handling of the crisis and says that "the way things were done created a disaster for our economy."

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct misinformation. The eight-hour period applies to lenders that have less than $1 billion in assets, not small businesses.

The City of Allentown’s Department of Community & Economic Development is implementing a $500,000 Small Business Stabilization Program using funds it received through the CARES Act.

Neffs National Bank opened its first branch office. The new location at 211 S. Best Ave in Walnutport, is the bank’s first expansion since its founding in 1923.

“Every job is life-sustaining for someone, and the PPP is saving the livelihoods of those in our community,” Orrstown Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Officer Luke Bernstein said in his remarks to the nation Tuesday.

Combined assets between the two community development financial institutions, which will be organized as a single entity under the name Community First Fund, will total $101 million, and $129 million by 2024, Community First Fund officials said in a Tuesday announcement.

The unprecedented volume of crisis loan applications is shifting lender-borrower relationships, as community banks establish lending relationships with small business owners who struggled to receive financial support at bigger banks.

More than $177,000 in emergency funds were distributed between 30 businesses in Easton, part of a joint effort of the Greater Easton Development Partnership, the city and Easton Area Industrial Land Development.