WASHINGTON– The United States has made more than $500 billion in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, with about $145 billion still to be disbursed as of Sunday, according to the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department.
While the federal government has not released a list of which companies have received funds, one private analysis offers some insights into who is getting the money.
According to the federal government, the SBA has processed about 2.2 million loans worth more than $175 billion since Congress last month authorized an additional $310 billion in funding for the program as part of round two.
The average loan size in the second round of the PPP loan processing has been $79,000, according to the statement from the SBA.
The U.S. government’s $660 billion small business rescue program has stumbled on missing paperwork, technology failure, and the misdirection of funds to big corporations. It also faces the hurdle of forgiving those hastily arranged loans.
The latest data released by the government does not address complaints around the transparency of the program. For example, it not include a breakdown of industries that have received loans.
NAFCU Response
"Credit unions are working around the clock to get needed funds into the hands of their members in need, including our nation's smallest businesses and many underserved communities," said NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger. "With the average PPP Loan size dropping to $79,000, the overall funds lasting longer than originally projected, and protections in place to ensure community-based lenders, such as credit unions, have access to funds, the process has improved from the last round of funding.
"However, the facts are clear, the SBA's PPP loan fund will be depleted before the crisis ends, and NAFCU projects more funding will be needed to get our economy through this pandemic. This unprecedented time calls for unprecedented measures, and NAFCU will continue to work with policymakers to empower credit unions to serve."
Who’s Getting the Money
Meanwhile, an early analysis of where funds from the Paycheck Protection Program have been going has found more than $1 billion in funds mean for small businesses have gone to publicly traded companies.
In all, nearly 300 public companies have reported receiving money from the PPP, according to data compiled by the Washington Post. Recipients include 43 companies with more than 500 workers, which is supposed to be the maximum typically allowed by the program, but loopholes have been exploited by a number of companies.
In addition, the Post analysis found several other recipients of PPP funds were prosperous enough to pay executives $2 million or more.
“After the first pool of $349 billion ran dry, leaving more than 80 percent of applicants without funding, outrage over the millions of dollars that went to larger firms prompted some companies to return the money,” the Post reported. “As of Thursday, public companies had reported returning more than $125 million, according to a Post analysis of filings.”
As CUToday.info has reported, among the companies that have returned funds are Auto Nation, Shake Shack and the Los Angeles Lakers.
No Plans to Return Funds
But other companies have said they plan to keep the funds, saying the loans had been awarded according to the program’s rules and that they would use most of it to pay workers, as required, in order for the loans to be forgiven, the Post reported.
The Post quoted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as saying three-quarters of the loans were for totals of under $150,000. But officials have urged publicly traded firms with access to other capital to return the money by May 7. Mnuchin said this week that all loans of more than $2 million will be audited, with potential penalties for those who don’t comply, as CUToday.info reports separately.
The Small Business Administration has refused to release the names of companies that have received the loans, despite having released such information on its loan programs for years, according to the Post.
Big Companies Getting Big Money
Among the companies that have received funds from the PPP, according to the Post analysis:
- Veritone, Costa Mesa, Calif., which paid CEO Chad Steelberg $18.7 million in total compensation in 2018, the last year for which data is available. His brother, Ryan Steelberg, the company’s president, made $13.9 million. The company received $6.5 million in funding from the program.
- A group of hotel companies chaired by Monty Bennett, a Dallas executive, including Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts. The companies used more than 100 filings to seek $126 million total and received $76 million. Over the weekend the company said it would return the money.