Billions in Small-Business Forgivable Loans Are Still Available
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Here's your money briefing for Friday, March 5th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. All through the pandemic last year, the Federal Paycheck Protection Program has provided millions of small businesses with some much-needed cash to help keep the doors open and avoid laying off workers. But even as many businesses along Main Street continue to struggle, the program still has $100 billion sitting untapped in its coffers.
The Biden administration is particularly concerned about the very small businesses, so those businesses that have fewer than 20 employees, and businesses that are helmed by sole proprietors, independent contractors, self-employed workers. The administration has really said that it wants to help those kinds of businesses access the program better.
Coming up, we'll check in with our small business reporter, Amara Amokwe. She's been looking into why more businesses haven't applied for PPP funds and how the government is trying to smooth out the process before a looming deadline. And we'll hear from a Dallas area small business owner about the challenges he's faced in navigating the system. That's after the break.
This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cyber criminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. ReliaQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. ReliaQuest, agentic defense for the enterprise. Learn more at ReliaQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com.
For many small business owners who receive funds through the Paycheck Protection Program, frustration with the system drove them away when it came time to apply for more money. But as the program's expiration date draws closer, the government is taking steps to iron out the pain points and connect business owners with forgivable loans. In a moment, we'll ask a custom furniture store owner in Dallas about his experience with the program.
What is the current state of untapped PPP funds and why does it matter?
But first, we've got our small business reporter, Amera Amokwe, with us. Amera, thanks for being here.
Thanks for having me.
So it seems all we hear about is the struggle that businesses are facing, and yet $100 billion is sitting untouched in the PPP. Why haven't businesses scooped up that money?
Well, J.R., it's actually more than $100 billion that is untouched right now. And the Biden administration is particularly concerned about the very small businesses, so those businesses that have fewer than 20 employees, and businesses that are helmed by sole proprietors, independent contractors, self-employed workers. The administration has really said that it wants to help those kinds of businesses access the program better. And the concerns about those businesses sort of stems back to last year when the Paycheck Protection Program first opened. You may remember that very small businesses, those that are a little bit less sophisticated, that don't have access to accountants and consultants, they really struggled to navigate the program and all the rules and all the changing guidelines.
And also, businesses that didn't have existing relationships with lenders, especially at the beginning of the Paycheck Protection Program, really had trouble accessing the program because, of course, the loans are issued by lenders themselves.
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