ICBA asked the federal banking regulators to allow community banks to recognize Paycheck Protection Program fees as income in their call reports due to the program's complex accounting arrangement.

In a letter, ICBA said the program's unconventional lending arrangement requires banks to recognize almost all income under the program through the origination fee, not the yield on the investment.

Recognizing the income on bank balance sheets immediately, rather than over the life of the loan, reflects the dependence on SBA loan forgiveness and will help strengthen community bank balance sheets.