WASHINGTON—The Paycheck Protection Program should be extended through Dec. 31, CUNA and hundreds of national and state organizations wrote to Congressional leadership.
The PPP was reauthorized at up to $284 billion starting Jan. 11 and is scheduled to close March 31.
“Despite the breadth of this emergency aid, small businesses continue to struggle, especially minority-owned businesses. Survey data show that 66% of minority-owned small businesses fear permanent closure due to the pandemic compared to 57% of non-minority-owned firms,” the letter reads. “The same report shows that minorities have a harder time accessing the capital needed to keep their businesses open.
“More recent data show neighborhoods with a higher concentration of minority-owned businesses are experiencing higher business closure rates (36%) compared to businesses in non-minority communities (22%),” the letter adds.
Credit unions made more than 204,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling $9.7 billion, averaging $47,624 each through the program's first round.
More Eyes Opened
- Separately, CUNA said Coopera has beenchosen as the newest partner of Credit Union Awareness LLC and the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union campaign. According to the organizations, the strategic collaboration with Coopera will help expand the Open Your Eyes campaign to one of the largest, fastest-growing, youngest and most underserved communities in the US – Latinx. Coopera is the only emerging-markets company in the credit union industry with an exclusive focus on the Hispanic member, CUNA said.
“DEI is now an essential conversation about being relevant for any industry. This collaboration is an example of all the ways in which the credit union space is building tools so that it’s a space where diversity leads to inclusion and belonging,” said CUNA. “This partnership provides tools so that credit unions find new ways to communicate and resonate culturally in underrepresented communities, which usually are financially underserved.”