Small businesses worry $349 billion emergency lending program isn’t big enough

Days after the launch of a $349 billion emergency small-business lending program, some of the country’s biggest banks say they have already allocated more than 10 percent of the fund, raising concerns there won’t be enough money for the millions of companies expected to apply.

Bank of America, alone among the big banks to begin processing applications Friday, said Monday it received 178,000 applications from small businesses seeking $32.9 billion in loans. Wells Fargo never formally started taking applications, but by Monday morning said that so many people had expressed preliminary interest that it had already reached the $10 billion cap it had set for loans under the program.