On Friday, April 3, New Jersey lenders will start to accept applications for SBA Paycheck Protection Loans. As you know, the Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.
Under this program, SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
Small business owners can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make these loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program.
Your members should consult with their local SBA lenders as to whether they are participating in the program. To help your constituents locate lenders who are participating in this program, the SBA has developed an online portal that allows them to search for these lenders by zip code.
Please share and promote this link https://www.sba.gov/paycheckprotection/find with your members so they can begin to start the application process.
The application is live at the following link: https://content.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/Paycheck-Protection-Program-Application-Fillable.pdf, and we encourage you to share it with your members so they can immediately begin to apply for this loan program.
We are also enclosing a news release on the Paycheck Protection Program that will give you a little more information that you can provide to the numerous small business owners who may be calling your offices.
In addition to the Paycheck Protection Program, there are other programs that small businesses can also use. These additional programs include: SBA Debt Relief; SBA Express Bridge Loans; and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance.
Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to SBA NJ District Director Al Titone at 973-645-3680 or at Alfred.Titone@sba.gov or SBA Deputy District Director John Blackstock at 973-645-3580 or at John.Blackstock@sba.gov.
Thank you for getting the word out to the small business community and please give us your feedback on both the good and bad that you hear, it will certainly help us to see what is working and what needs to be readjusted in order to make the process seamless.
Best,
Harry Menta
Public Affairs Specialist
New Jersey District Office
U.S. Small Business Administration
2 Gateway Center – Suite 1002
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 645-6064
harry.menta@sba.gov
Release Date: April 1, 2020 Contact: Press_Office@sba.gov, (202) 205-7036
Release Number: 20-29 Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs & Instagram
Small Businesses Welcome $349 Billion Paycheck Protection Program as SBA and Treasury Begin to Distribute Funds
WASHINGTON – Following President Trump’s signing of the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin announced that the SBA and Treasury Department have initiated a robust mobilization effort of banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need.
The CARES Act establishes a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain their businesses and keep their workers employed.
“This unprecedented public-private partnership is going to assist small businesses with accessing capital quickly. Our goal is to position lenders as the single point-of-contact for small businesses – the application, loan processing, and disbursement of funds will all be administered at the community level,” said Administrator Carranza. “Speed is the operative word; applications for the emergency capital can begin as early as this week, with lenders using their own systems and processes to make these loans. We remain committed to supporting our nation’s more than 30 million small businesses and their employees, so that they can continue to be the fuel for our nation’s economic engine.”
“This legislation provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed,” said Secretary Mnuchin. “Treasury and the Small Business Administration expect to have this program up and running by April 3rd so that businesses can go to a participating SBA 7(a) lender, bank, or credit union, apply for a loan, and be approved on the same day. The loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll and for certain other expenses.”
The new loan program will help small businesses with their payroll and other business operating expenses. It will provide critical capital to businesses without collateral requirements, personal guarantees, or SBA fees – all with a 100% guarantee from SBA. All loan payments will be deferred for six months. Most importantly, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.
The Paycheck Protection Program is specifically designed to help small businesses keep their workforce employed. Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program. The new loan program will be available retroactive from Feb. 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020.
Loan Terms & Conditions:
Eligible businesses: All businesses, including non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees, or no greater than the number of employees set by the SBA as the size standard for certain industries
Maximum loan amounts up to $10 million
Loan forgiveness if proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated business operating expenses in the 8 weeks following the date of loan origination (due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than 25% of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs)
All loans under this program will have the following identical features:
- Interest rate of 1%
- Maturity of 2 years
- First payment deferred for six months
- 100% guarantee by SBA
- No collateral
- No personal guarantees
- No borrower or lender fees payable to SBA
SBA’s announcement comes on the heels of a series of steps taken by the Agency since the President’s Emergency Declaration to expeditiously provide capital to financially distressed businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since March 17, SBA has taken the following steps:
- Declared all states and territories eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance
- 1-year deferment on Economic Injury Disaster Loans provided due to COVID-19
- Automatic deferment of previous disaster loans for homeowners and businesses through 2020
- Waiver of garnishments through 2020
Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses. Additional information about the Paycheck Protection Program can be found on the SBA website at: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/paycheck-protection-program-ppp
For detailed information on SBA programs for the coronavirus, please visit www.sba.gov/coronavirus and for information on all federal programs, visit www.usa.gov/coronavirus or www.gobierno.usa.gov/coronavirus (en Español).
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