In an interview with Yahoo, US Small Business Administration (SBA) Director Isabella Casillas Guzman revealed that there are still billions of dollars available in COVID relief money for small businesses. Guzman adds that small businesses can take advantage of the various pandemic stimulus programs and supplemental grants that the federal government is still providing.
Billions are still available in small business aid money
In an interview with Danny Romero for Yahoo News, Guzman said the Small Business Administration and the federal government want to support small businesses with whatever programs they have. The SBA’s COVID-19 Relief Options page contains multiple programs to meet the needs of small business owners.
From the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Indoor Operators Grant (SVOG), and the Economic Disaster Loan (EIDL), the SBA is looking to more help for small businesses. This includes the assignment of loans received by many companies.
“We want to see all the public-private partnerships — $800 billion — come back to market,” Guzman said. Adding, “We want to see these loans move into tolerance if they qualify, and these lenders have the capital to re-lend now in the small business community.”
When the PPP tolerance portal was opened, the tool was used by more than 340,000 companies in just the first two weeks. The result was that $2.4 billion was overlooked only for those early adopters of the portal. As Guzman mentioned, the forgiveness of these loans improves the overall economy and allows small business owners to begin their path to recovery after the pandemic.
Small loan recipients need to apply for amnesty
According to the lender’s application for forgiveness platform metrics on August 15, small businesses with loans of $50,000 or less, the forgiveness request rate is just 44.4%. This is despite the fact that the group has the highest number of recipients of PPP loans at 9,009,866.
Only 3,999,158 of these companies applied for loan forgiveness. This leaves more than half or 5,010,708 companies that can apply and potentially qualify for loan forgiveness. As Guzman said, they are looking to waive the loans. So, if you’re one of those companies with less than $50,000 in PPP loans, there’s no time like the present to step in.
Photo: sba
