Wall Street Misses Chance to Star After Chaos Snags Rescue Loans

When the U.S. government needed to get an unprecedented sea of cash to small businesses, it tapped banks to get the job done -- a task Wall Street hoped would help repair a reputation that remains damaged from the 2008 financial crisis. Then reality set in.

Work on the coronavirus relief program, spearheaded by a federal agency ill-equipped to speed billions of dollars out the door, quickly spun out of control. Amid technology crashes and multiple updates to the lending rules, the spigot slowed and caused an outcry from borrowers desperate for lifelines. As critics looked to cast blame, there ...