Winter2021_SSCWN_web

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
YOU
CAN USE
SBA Re-Opens Paycheck Protection Program
The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation
with the U.S. Treasury Department, reopened
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, January 15, 2021.
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.
The SBA will continue its emphasis on reaching
smaller lenders and businesses by opening to approximately
5,000 more lenders, including community
banks, credit unions, and farm credit institutions.
Moreover, the agency also plans to have
dedicated service hours for these smaller lenders
after the portal fully re-opens next week.
“A second round of PPP could not have come at
a better time, and the SBA is making every effort
to ensure small businesses have the emergency
financial support they need to continuing weathering
this time of uncertainty,” said SBA Administrator
Jovita Carranza in a press release. “SBA has
worked expeditiously to ensure our policies and
systems are re-launched so that this vital small
business aid helps communities hardest hit by the
pandemic. I strongly encourage America’s entrepreneurs
needing financial assistance to apply for a
First or Second Draw PPP loan.”
“We are pleased to have opened PPP loans to
CDFIs, MDIs, CDCs, and Microloan Intermediaries.
The PPP is already providing America’s small
businesses hardest hit by the pandemic with vital
economic relief,” Secretary of the Treasury Steven
T. Mnuchin stated in the press release. “As the Program
re-opens for all First and Second Draw borrowers
next week, the PPP will allow small businesses
to keep workers on payroll and connected
to their health insurance.”
First Draw PPP Loans are for those borrowers
who have not received a PPP loan before August
8, 2020. The first round of the PPP, which ran
from March to August 2020, was a historic success
helping 5.2 million small businesses keep 51 million
American workers employed.
28 • FALL 2020
Second Draw PPP Loans are for eligible small
businesses with 300 employees or less, that previously
received a First Draw PPP Loan and will
use or have used the full amount only for authorized
uses, and that can demonstrate at least a
25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable
quarters in 2019 and 2020. The maximum
amount of a Second Draw PPP loan is $2 million.
How and When to Apply
You can apply for a Second Draw PPP
Loan from January 13, 2021, until March
31, 2021. SBA is currently accepting Second
Draw PPP loan applications from participating
lenders. Lender Match (Lender
Match is a free online tool that connects
small businesses with SBA-approved lenders.
Do not use if looking for an SBA EIDL
loan) can help connect you with a lender.
All Second Draw PPP Loans will have the
same terms regardless of lender or borrower.
Updated PPP Lender forms, guidance, and
resources are available at www.sba.gov/ppp
and www.treasury.gov/cares.
60,000 PPP loans
approved in first week
In its first week since reopening, the SBA announced
that it has approved approximately
60,000 PPP loan applications submitted by nearly
3,000 lenders, for over $5 billion. In early January,
the PPP provided dedicated access to community
financial institutions that specialize in serving
underserved communities, including minority-,
women- and veteran-owned small businesses.
“The SBA continues to help small businesses across
the nation access vital funds through the Paycheck
Protection Program. Data from our first week, which
first allowed hundreds of community financial institutions
to submit applications, then opened wider to
small banks, demonstrate that we have helped tens
of thousands of businesses,” said SBA Administrator
Jovita Carranza in a press release.
“The PPP is off to another great start helping our
nation’s economy. With PPP re-opening today for
all First and Second Draw loan applications, the
SBA remains committed to keeping small business
workers on payroll and their doors open during
this challenging time. Moreover, the SBA over-performed
operationally, issuing guidance and rules in
advance and in alignment with the new law’s requirements,”
Carranza added.
$1.1 million PPP loans
forgiven so far totaling
over $100 billion
The SBA has already forgiven more than 1.1
million PPP loans for over $100 billion, providing
an extraordinary amount of critical relief to
America’s small businesses just 3 months since the
earliest PPP borrowers’ covered periods ended, according
to a January 12 press release.
SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza stated in the
press release, “For any eligible small business continuing
to struggle due to the coronavirus pandemic,
the Program has re-opened for new and certain
existing PPP borrowers, and we encourage you to
take advantage of the PPP to keep your workers on
payroll, regardless of any local economic restrictions
on your operations. SBA is continuing to work
around the clock to forgive existing PPP loans and
implement the next phase of this vital Program.”
The SBA has so far received 1,346,125 forgiveness
applications for approximately $170.5 billion.
SBA has made payment on nearly 85% of
the applications, forgiving over $100 billion. For
the smallest borrowers with loans up to $50,000,
88% have been approved for forgiveness.
Department of Labor
announces annual
adjustments to OSHA
civil penalties
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced
adjustments to Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) civil penalty amounts
based on cost-of-living adjustments for 2021.
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act
to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties
and to maintain their deterrent effect. Under
the Act, agencies are required to publish “catch-up”
rules that adjust the level of civil monetary penalties
and make subsequent annual adjustments for
inflation no later than January 15 of each year.