Regions Bank to pay government $4.9 million in connection with COVID-era loans involving Columbia businessman
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Regions Bank on Friday agreed to pay the federal government $4,919,631 to resolve allegations that it received payment it should not have in connection with the bank forgiving a customer’s Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
The bank had been sparring with Greg DeLine, suing the Columbia businessman in March, claiming that his companies had not paid the $1.5 million total remaining on a 2022 loan.
The federal government claimed Regions Bank fully forgave a loan to one of DeLine’s businesses on Aug. 3, 2021. The government alleges the loan was not eligible to be forgiven.
“While we disagree with claims made in this matter, we have settled with the goal of closing this chapter and moving on. Regions facilitated over 75,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans, helping small businesses stay open while keeping hard-working Americans employed during the worst of the pandemic,” Regions Bank wrote in a Tuesday statement. “We are proud of our record supporting small businesses and have resolved this one individual matter regarding one specific loan from that 75,000 total.”