ICYMI: U.S. Small Business Administration announces re-opening of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to small lenders this week

Businesses can begin preparing to apply now; program will open to all lenders next week; information sessions for businesses offered by Washington Small Business Development Center

||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE |||

Olympia – The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and Department of Commerce are reminding Washington’s small businesses, eligible nonprofits and lenders the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been funded with $284 billion for a new round of forgivable loans. The loan program is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Applications are being accepted now for both first and second draw loans.

The first round of the PPP, which ran from March to August 2020, helped 5.2 million small businesses nationwide keep 51 million American workers employed. Just over 107,000 Washington state businesses received PPP loans.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our country, of Washington state,” DFI Director Charlie Clark said. “It’s so important they get the assistance they need to continue beyond this pandemic. Washington’s financial institutions stepped up in a big way during the first PPP allocations, and we know they will again.”

”These federal loans have been crucial for helping small businesses and our overall economy,” Commerce Director Lisa Brown said. “Small businesses can take steps now to get ready to apply, starting with finding a participating lender and finding out what kind of documentation they need to prepare.”

The SBA is currently only accepting loan applications from participating community financial institutions (CFIs). Businesses can find a participating CFI at Lender Match. The program will open to all lenders next Tuesday.

The Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC), funded by SBA and Washington State University, is providing virtual webinars and technical assistance on the loans:

•  “SBA Round 2 COVID-19 relief and PPP Application” is at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 15. Register here.
• Additional PPP webinars will be provided every Friday at 10 a.m. through March. For more information, visit https://wsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events.

Additional SBA resources for businesses

• SBA E-Bulletin with information about the PPP program and other relief options
• Fact sheets: Paycheck Protection Program First Draw Loans: Overview (sba.gov) and Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loans: Overview (sba.gov)
• SBA PPP web pages: www.sba.gov/ppp or www.sba.gov/paycheckprotection
• Email updates: www.sba.gov/updates
• SBA social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | LinkedIn

SBA news release (1/13/21):  SBA re-opening Paycheck Protection Program to small lenders on Friday, Jan. 15 and all lenders on Tuesday, Jan. 19

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, will re-open the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal to PPP-eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets for First and Second Draw applications on Friday, Jan. 15 at 9 a.m. ET.  The portal will fully open on Tuesday, Jan.19 to all participating PPP lenders to submit First and Second Draw loan applications to SBA.

Earlier in the week, SBA granted dedicated PPP access to Community Financial Institutions (CFIs) which include Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), and Microloan Intermediaries as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to reach underserved and minority small businesses.

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