In an interview with Yahoo, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman revealed there are still billions of dollars available in COVID relief money for small businesses. Guzman adds small businesses can capitalize on the different pandemic stimulus programs and supplemental grants the federal government still offers.
Billions Still Available in Small Business Aid Money
In the interview by Dani Romero for Yahoo News, Guzman said the SBA and the federal government want to support small businesses with any programs they have. The COVID-19 relief options page of the SBA has multiple programs to address the needs of small business owners.
From the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), the SBA is looking to further help small businesses. This includes forgiving the loans many of the businesses have received.
Guzman said, “We want to see all of the PPPs — $800 billion — get back into the marketplace.” Adding, “We want to see those loans move to forgiveness if they’re eligible, and those lenders have that capital to now re-lend in the small business community.”
When the PPP forgiveness portal opened, more than 340,000 businesses used the tool in the first two weeks alone. The result was $2.4 billion being forgiven just for those early users of the portal. As Guzman mentioned, forgiving these loans improves the overall economy and allows small business owners to start their road to recovery after the pandemic.
Small Loan Recipients Need to Apply for Forgiveness
According to the August 15 Forgiveness Platform Lender Submission Metrics, small businesses with loans of $50,000 or less, the application rate for forgiveness is only 44.4%. This is despite the fact the group has the largest number of recipients of PPP loans at 9,009,866.
Only 3,999,158 of these businesses have submitted for loan forgiveness. This leaves more than half or 5,010,708 businesses that can apply and potentially qualify for the loan forgiveness. As Guzman said, they are looking to forgive the loans. So, if you are one of these businesses with less than $50K in PPP loans, there is no time like the present to apply.
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