With billions of dollars in potentially forgivable Payroll Protection Program (PPP) capital still available to small businesses and nonprofits, the U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraging New Jersey small business owners to apply for PPP loans to help provide them eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed.
Created out by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, PPP is responsible for infusing billions of dollars of capital into small businesses nationwide and saving jobs.
The second round, which kicked off April 27, has awarded 2,378,057 loans worth $181,158,888,644 as of close of business on Tuesday, May 5. More than 900K of those loans, worth $57,296,660,188, were issued by small lenders. SBA forgives the portion of Paycheck Protection loan proceeds used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest. Loan payments may be deferred for one year, and is retroactive from February 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020.
“The Paycheck Protection Program is working. Small businesses are keeping their employees on payroll and earning salary,” said SBA Atlantic Regional Administrator Steve Bulger who oversees the federal agency’s operations in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “For this federal program to work for you and your employees, I encourage you to submit an application through a PPP-participating bank, credit union, CDFI or online lender.”
“We are encouraged by the number of PPP loans that have been approved to New Jersey small businesses,” said SBA New Jersey District Director Al Titone. “In less than one month, $17 billion in PPP loans have been approved to just under 111,000 New Jersey small businesses. Our objective is to make sure that a portion of the remaining $100 billion goes to New Jersey small businesses that need capital to keep their businesses going.”
Approved Lenders can be found using the SBA Lender Locater at www.sba.gov/ppp.
Loan forgiveness is based on the borrower maintaining or quickly rehiring employees while maintaining salaries and hours. PPP loans have a maturity of 2 years and an interest rate of 1%. A copy of the PPP borrower application form with all information the federal government requires a small business to provide can be found at: https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form-2483-paycheck-protection-program-borrower-application-form.
To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.
previous story