by Anthony Quiñones
On March 24 the Senate voted 92 to 7 to extend the application deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from March 31 to May 31. Passage of the PPP extension came nearly one week after the House approved the bill, which now needs President Joe Biden’s signature to officially become law. In addition, pushing back the deadline gives the Small Business Administration (SBA) until June 30 to process loans.
While the extension gives borrowers a reprieve, they shouldn’t delay in getting their applications in. The Economic Aid Act extended the authority to make PPP loans with an additional $284 billion in subsidy and modified rules for PPP loan eligibility and forgiveness. In addition, the American Rescue Plan Act provided an additional $7.25 billion in subsidy. In the 2021 rounds of PPP, as of March 21, the SBA has approved 3.1 million loans totaling $195.7 billion in loans with approximately $79 billion left and interest in the program isn’t slowing down. As a result, the program could run out of funding early if application approvals continue at their current rate.
“The extension of the PPP loan deadline to May 31, 2021 will serve as a lifeline for small business owners; as it was virtually impossible for banks to process all loans due to immense number of applicants. We are encouraging small business owners to complete their applications in a timely manner,” says Phil Andrews, President, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (www.liaacc.org) – New York State’s largest African American Chamber and New York District Office of the United States of America 2019 Small Business Champion for 14 counties in Downstate, New York which includes New York City, Long Island and the counties of Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
Andrews adds, “The preliminary data from the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. is showing an increase in smaller minority firms applying for the PPP loans and successfully obtaining them with the new terms which are more favorable to smaller companies.”
The re-opening of the PPP, the recent extension and the partnerships between financial organizations and participating banks have helped businesses get funding they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
“The PPP loan awarded to Complete Girlz, Inc. (www.completegirlz.com) will help our organization to continually operate as we work to keep our organization afloat during the current crisis. Complete Girlz, Inc. is a New York based non-for-profit providing a unique empowerment/mentoring program. It is a full-service program geared to girls/young women ages 9 – 24. Complete Girlz leadership training seeks to holistically meet the needs of young ladies. The ability to pay for essential services is critical to our organization’s ability to fulfill our mission,” says Earlene Taylor, CEO/Founder, Complete Girlz.
Customers Bank established a national reputation by being a top 5 ranked PPP lender by participating in over 100,000 SBA-approved PPP loans. Many small businesses that couldn’t get loans with the big banks could now get smaller loans through their partnerships with chambers of commerce and other financial institutions.
“Customers Bank has been working tirelessly to provide PPP funds to so many small businesses across the US. We have exceeded the 100,000 approved loans mark with an average loan size of $21,447. That only says how committed we are to helping those that need it the most. We will continue to take PPP applications until the new dateline; it is the right thing to do and we are proud of it,” says Miguel Alban, Senior Vice President and Director of Multicultural Banking for Customers Bank.
The deadline for all PPP applications is May 31, 2021 or whenever funding runs out, whichever comes first. To apply, click here.
