It has been several days since the second round of PPP loan processing began. Bankers were hoping for a smoother ride this go-around, but many of the same problems that plagued the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program are still on the scene in round two.
Just thirteen days after its launch, the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program fund (part of the $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package) had exhausted all funds. There have been talks of more funding coming, but this has left questions circulating like: Are more funds coming? How much more? When?
There are two legitimate concerns when thinking about reopening the country: the physical health and well-being of citizens and the economic health and well-being of citizens. President Trump’s initial hope to see the country reopened by Easter was met with a lot of backlash from healthcare professionals and economists that said it was too soon and would wind up doing more harm than good. While obviously that date has come and gone with no uplifting of shelter-in-place and other social distancing orders, the push to reopen sooner than later is not unfounded. Yesterday, the president announced the ‘Opening Up America Again’ plan aiming for May 1st.
If you’re in the banking or small business industry, you’re more than likely aware of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that begins today, Friday, April 3rd, 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This program is designed to help small businesses.
Traditional thinking says that the risk banks make lending to small companies rarely outweighs the profits. Recent relationships between the small business community and fintech startups are causing lenders to reevaluate this line of thought.
Although there was a slight dip in December, the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) Small Business Optimism Index saw one of the highest yearly survey readings in 2019 since the creation of the survey in 1973. According to the December survey results, “an increased number of small business owners reported better business conditions and expect higher nominal sales in the next three months,” and “small businesses continued to hire and create new jobs with actual job creation.”
Small Business Saturday is an annual tradition that occurs the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Locals are encouraged to “shop small” and show support to the diverse businesses in their community. The holiday was created by American Express in 2010 and has seen rapid growth every year since.
Community banks can have a tremendous effect on the success of the small businesses around them. For decades, community banks have been the backbone to entrepreneurship in America and are critical in the start-up phase of small businesses. Community Banks are responsible for over 40 percent of all small business loans awarded in America1. This shows that small businesses are more likely to receive the help they need from community banks than their larger counterparts.