The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the $2.2 trillion federal program known as the CARES Act, isn’t the panacea many hoped it would be.
Many report difficulties getting through, the inability to register, and a lack of concrete answers regarding the CARES Act.
There are two types of loans available: Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Loans (PPP). The goal of the government is to get money from these loans into the hands of businesses as soon as possible.
Criteria to be eligible for the loans include not having more than 500 employees; principal place of business is in the United States, and operational as of February 15, 2020.
How much can you get? You can borrow up to your average total monthly payroll costs during the one year immediately before the loan multiplied by 2.5.
Lenders started processing loan applications on April 3, 2020, and they will be available through June 30, 2020.
At present, there is a face-off in the Senate as Republican leaders want to give the PPP a $250 billion boost. Democrats are blocking this attempt as they feel it should be spread across various programs.
For those who have applied, one caveat to keep in mind is if you are caught using loan proceeds for things not related to payroll costs, you will have to pay it back.
To find a list of lending institutions that are participating, click here and for the application and details here.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), about 70% of small business owners tried to apply for the loan with varying degrees of success. Of the 30% who have not actively tried to apply, one-third of them plan to in the next month, and 36% are considering it.
About 72% of those who tried to apply for a PPP loan were successful in submitting their application. However, some banks are pre-screening applicants before having them fill out the full application, so it is unclear how many have successfully applied or have just completed the first step in a longer process. Twenty-eight percent of small business owners were not successful in applying for a PPP loan.
Of the 28% of small business owners who were not successful, most of them (68%) are waiting for their bank to start accepting PPP loans. Nine percent of them are not able to find a participating bank, which is likely due to their own bank not participating. Five percent of owners trying to apply for the loan were told by their bank that it had hit their limit of accepting loans. This issue may have been eliminated on April 8, 2020, with the regulators allowing Wells Fargo to exceed their previously placed cap on loan origination. Another 5% found the process too complicated to proceed.
Many travel advisors have reported difficulty applying for these loans. There were issues with the platform, as after filling out a few pages, they were bounced off.
This story originally appeared on the website of sister publication, Prevue.
For more updates on this ever-changing situation, visit Recommend’s Coronavirus Updates Center.
