SBA to open Paycheck Protection Program direct forgiveness website
The US Small Business Administration will launch a streamlined Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness application website to allow some 6.5 million borrowers with PPP loans of $150,000 or less to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA, it announced.
On Aug. 4, the site will begin accepting applications from borrowers that have a PPP loan with a lender that has opted into the forgiveness system.
“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses — including many sole proprietors — who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” said Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.
“The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process,” she said.
In Puerto Rico, the SBA approved 39,544 loans in 2020 totaling more than $1.8 billion, and 30,740 during the second funding round in 2021, for close to another $950 million, according to agency data.
“The SBA is making the forgiveness process more efficient for small businesses so they can recover more fully, get back on track and grow,” said SBA Acting Regional Administrator Bernard J. Paprocki.
“The largest segment of Paycheck Protection Program loans awaiting forgiveness in the Atlantic Region are $150,000 or less. Small businesses and nonprofits with a PPP loan through a lender that opts into this portal will be able to apply for forgiveness through this easier method,” he said.
Overall, the SBA and lenders worked to originate more than 11.7 million loans totaling nearly $800 billion in relief to over 8.5 million small businesses across the US and its territories.
More than 600 banks have opted into direct forgiveness, enabling over 2.17 million borrowers to apply through the website, which represents 30% of loans $150,000 or less that have not yet submitted for forgiveness, the agency said.
