WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The Small Business Administration said Tuesday that as of noon Eastern time it had approved $253 billion in forgivable loans during the program's first 12 days.
About one million Paycheck Protection Program applications have been approved for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by about 4,700 lending institutions, the SBA said.
With the program authorizing up to $349 billion to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, a little more than a quarter remains from the initial rollout. The Federal Reserve on Thursday approved $2.3 trillion to government programs, including the PPP. It's not clear how much will go toward further funding the PPP.
PeopleForBikes, which has held three webinars for retailers looking to secure government assistance, has said further funding could be on tap. PFB also recommends retailers apply for the low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
The Paycheck Protection Program got off to a slow start on April 3 from lenders quickly meeting loan caps, and application and technical issues. Bike retailers have had mixed results. Steve White, an SBA lead lender relations specialist, urged them last week during a PFB webinar to have patience and persistence.
He said the sheer size of the program required extra time to implement and troubleshoot. The loan amount will be forgiven if:
- The loan proceeds are used to cover payroll costs and most mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs over the eight-week period after the loan is made.
- Employee and compensation levels are maintained. Payroll is capped at $100,000 on an annual basis for each employee. Due to likely high subscription, it's anticipated that not more than 25% of the forgiven amount will be for non-payroll costs.
- Loan payments will be deferred for six months.
