Banking Dive, August 5, 2020: As Congress scrambles to extend PPP, loan data casts light on inequality
The PPP’s loan application window closes Saturday unless Congress intervenes. The Rubio-Collins proposals come about a week after Senate Republicans suggested a long-term loan initiative that would earmark almost $60 billion for seasonal businesses and companies based in low-income communities. That plan would additionally recirculate the nearly $130 billion in PPP funds that remain unclaimed.
One proposal would extend PPP through Dec. 31, with a special focus on businesses with 300 or fewer employees that have seen a 35% decline in revenue or more, according to Bloomberg. It would also fund personal protective equipment for employees.
A second plan would create a longer-term program to extend loans to hard-hit businesses, and give an extra $10 million to the Minority Business Development Agency.
The latter would at least make an effort to address an ongoing racial disparity that the New York Fed study is backing up. The central bank branch looked at Census Bureau data and found that counties where Black-owned businesses are highly concentrated saw a higher number of COVID-19 cases per 1,000 residents through the end of June.
