By: Denis Cyr
There have been a lot written about Paycheck Protection Program, many say it was a handout to the rich, some boast how successful it was, some say it did not go far enough.
Crain’s reported: Small business owner Susannah Koteen thought the Paycheck Protection Program would be a lifeline. Instead its restrictions and guidelines have become a burden.
“We’ve gone through half our money,” admitted Koteen, owner of Lido’s restaurant in Harlem, who said her PPP money will last only three more weeks. “We’ve been using it for payroll, rent, and insurance like you’re supposed to, and in the meantime, we’re incurring a ton of new expenses.”
The guidelines have constantly shifted and the roll out was disastrous.
Crain’s pointed out: The PPP loan has been whirlpool of confusion and controversy since its inception this spring. Determinations on loan applications had initially been left up to individual lenders, which created double-standards across the banking landscape.
Then there was the fact the legislation allowed franchises and corporations to take advantage of the first pot of PPP money, which led to $349 billion disappearing within two weeks, which has been a main bone of contention since the start.
Both political parties can point fingers, however this was a bi-partisan issue.
The shifting guidelines have frustrated small business owners.
Crain’s explained that small businesses were originally required to allocate their PPP money eight weeks from the time they received the loan. That has since been extended to 24 weeks. A safe-harbor rule was also added to give employers flexibility in how and when they can hire back employees.
With all these factors and complication and the entire program under scrutiny, some hard data was finally released. was released.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) released details about Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The data does not cover all PPP loans—just those over $150,000. That still includes more than 660,000 loans valued at more than $429 billion, about 84% of the $510 billion in PPP loans that have been issued
Forbes summarized the available numbers.
Corporations accounted for roughly 40% of loan volume and retained jobs, followed by limited liability companies (LLCs) at about a quarter of both metrics
Manufacturing, professional services, health care, and construction companies—which comprise 36% of all businesses——took in 52% of PPP loans, each raking in more than $50 billion in loans.
Of the 661,000 loan applicants, 86% did not specify their ethnicity and 71% did not state their gender.
Forbes reported: The 33 largest banks—those with more than $50 billion in assets—provided $167.3 billion of PPP funds, just short of 40% of the total pie. More than 3,600 community banks contributed roughly $250 billion, with non-bank lenders chipping in $6.3 billion and credit unions adding in another $5.1 billion
In good news for NYC as reported by Crain’s: for small business owners in New York. According to the SBA, more than $38 billion came to 323,903 small businesses in New York State.
