Major US Bank Start Rolling out Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP)

April 4, 2020 7:00 PM EST Three out of the four major US banks have stated some type of process to start processing the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP). The program makes available $350 Billion to small businesses under the recently enacted $2.2 Trillion Coronavirus Stimulus Bill. Qualifications for applying include:

1. The business must have 500 or fewer employees
2. In business or before February 15, 2020
3. Employed staff that they paid salaries for or that paid independent contractors.
4. All the major bank also requires that he business had a Business Checking account as of February 15, 2020 and utilize the online banking feature for the application process.

Bank of American started accepting application on Friday and estimated 60,000 applications were received. Wells Fargo and Chase opened online portals on Saturday to allow customers to submit an interest in the program and the to wait for further instructions “within a few days.”  As of Sunday afternoon, Citi bank posted “While we are working as quickly as we can, Citi is not yet able to accept the loan applications for the new Paycheck Protection Program.” The SBA also provides a list of Eligible Lenders on its website. Mark Keen, the Director of Communications at Sintel Systems Global POS commented “The overall distribution of these funds is an enormous understating and we urge all to practice patience.” The program’s $350 Billion budget has been labeled as “first come firs serve” which may be a contributing factor to anxiety by some. “We are certain that the administration and Congress would act very quickly to allocated more funds. Our estimates are that this part of the program alone may require up to another $450 billion,” continued Keen.