• The Washington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg LP, Dow Jones and ProPublica sued the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Tuesday for access to government records detailing which companies have received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)
• The five media organizations filed requests last month under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking the names of recipients, the amount of each loan, and the banks that processed them — to no avail — even though the SBA has published that information in the past.
• The suit comes as the agency temporarily boosted the lending limit — from $350,000 to $1 million — of the SBA Express loan as part of the pandemic relief effort.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

Many black-owned small businesses are having trouble accessing the government's emergency Paycheck Protection Program loans, despite a fresh round of CARES Act funding that includes $60 billion in set-asides for minority and other underserved borrowers.

The coronavirus loan program, executed by the Small Business Administration, offers up to $10 million in loans per customer that can turn into grants that don't have to be repaid if certain rules are followed, such as using most of it for payroll, plus rent and utilities.

The program has been marred by administrative glitches and controversies since its hasty midnight launch on April 2. Funds effectively ran out in minutes as well-resourced companies — with the help of their bankers — muscled their way to the front, while mom-and-pop businesses were left wondering whether they even had a place in line.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

The U.S. Small Business Administration's disaster assistance office in Buffalo is temporarily expanding its workforce to assist individuals and business owners affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.

The Buffalo office plans to add dozens of temporary positions, paying $16 per hour, to process requests for federal disaster-assistance loans. Although they are not considered permanent positions, those hired may be able to stay on the jobs for several months or longer, depending on the demand.

"We are looking to hire 50 to 60 agents," said Colleen Hiam, who directs the Buffalo office. "They are temporary positions. However, after Hurricane Katrina, and I compare to that because we're expecting this to be on that level or even greater, some of these folks stayed on for one, two and up to three years helping us with our disaster relief efforts."

Click Here To Read The Full Article

Christian Piatt finally got a loan to help rescue his brand-new bar and restaurant in Granbury, Texas.

But it wasn't easy.

He applied through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to help small businesses threatened by the pandemic. One bank told him it couldn't lend through the program. Another told him he might have better luck elsewhere. The third approved his loan and he got the money.

Now he's wondering: How should he use his $34,000 loan?

"I understand in principle it's encouraging us to get people back to work," said Piatt, the co-owner of Brew Drinkery, which was forced to shut down only 51 days after opening. "But in practice, when you have a retail storefront that is not being allowed by local authorities to operate in the way that we had before, there should be some consideration to make it to account for that."

Click Here To Read The Full Article

The Los Angeles Lakers have returned a small business loan worth approximately $4.6 million. The money was provided as part of a federal government focused on supporting small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lakers had originally applied for the loan through the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program but returned the money after learning that hundreds of thousands of small businesses were shut out.

The program was established as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and was launched on April 3. Small businesses were provided with the opportunity to apply for and receive loans to cover employee salaries and other expenses. The loan is forgivable provided 75 percent of the funds are spent on payroll and that none of the employees are fired. The Lakers were eligible for the loan due to having roughly 300 employees.

Click Here To Read The Full Article