Big Banks Pull Ahead in U.S. Small-Business Aid After Stumbles

The largest U.S. banks stepped up lending to dominate the U.S. government’s small-business rescue program after playing an undersized role in its early days.

Banks with assets of $10 billion or more processed 68% of Paycheck Protection Program loans last week, data released on Sunday show, compared with about 40% during the program’s first round from April 3 to April 16. That translates to about $24 billion of PPP loans a day from the largest banks, more than double the daily pace set by that group in the first phase.

The big banks took PPP lending share mostly from ...