More On: Coronavirus
Joe Biden Tests Positive for Wuhan Coronavirus Again
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Fined for Violating COVID-19 Protocols
Shailene Woodley Defends Aaron Amid Rumored COVID-19 Quarantine Outings
Howard Stern: Aaron Rodgers Should Be Fired for 'Bulls--t' Vaccine Comments
Emilio Estevez Denies Being Anti-Vax After Exiting 'Mighty Ducks' Series
The Small Business Administration will begin OK’ing a second round of loans to struggling businesses on Monday — a process that will be closely watched by hoards of mom-and-pop owners who say they were excluded from the stimulus program the first time around. The second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans kicks off April 27 …
The Small Business Administration will begin OK’ing a second round of loans to struggling businesses on Monday — a process that will be closely watched by hoards of mom-and-pop owners who say they were excluded from the stimulus program the first time around.
The second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans kicks off April 27 at 10:30 am with $310 billion in funding.
“We encourage all approved lenders to process loan applications previously submitted by eligible borrowers and disburse funds expeditiously,” SBA chief Jovita Carranza and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a joint statement on Friday.
The loans have been highly sought after by businesses suffering from coronavirus quarantines because they can be converted into grants by companies that keep their employees on the payroll for an eight week period after the loan is granted. The first round of $350 billion in funding ran out of cash after just 13 days on April 16.
Since then, it’s emerged that dozens of publicly traded companies, some with valuations over $100 million, received funding, including $30 million from Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and the Wilhelmina International talent agency that represents celebrities from Nicki Minaj to Nick Jonas.
Small business owner Allan Ripp, who applied for a loan from Citibank in the first go around and came away empty handed, said he’s still concerned about being left out of the process while bigger companies get their loans.
“After enduring two weeks of automated hell with Citi’s portal and being repeatedly advised to stay patient while our application is ‘escalated’ with no meaningful sign that it has been, I don’t have a lot of confidence that we’ll be fortunate enough to receive funding, especially knowing how quickly the new round of funding will be committed.”
In a statement to The Post, a Citi spokesman said, “Citi is committed to supporting small businesses and has been pleased to participate in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We worked with applicants as quickly as possible to help them complete and submit their applications and regret that some of our clients did not receive funding prior to the SBA’s funds being exhausted.”
“We have continued to process applications in anticipation of additional program funding,” the Citi statement continued, “and we’re ready to continue helping small business owners get the funding they need to keep their employees on the payroll.”
