PressFrom, January 3, 2021, Minority-Owned Businesses at ‘End of the Line’ for PPP Loans, Thousands Ignored or Denied
Tens of thousands of minority-owned small businesses across the country were among the last to receive Paycheck Protection Program loans from the federal government’s March COVID-19 pandemic relief program—if they were approved at all.
The loan program ran from April 3 to August 8. An analysis of it by the Associated Press published Sunday found that minority business owners—many of them just “hanging on” financially—had their applications and inquiries pushed back to the final few weeks of the program. The AP analyzed ZIP codes from PPP data and found loans were approved at twice the rate in areas with the largest proportions of white residents. The AP detailed how six loans were approved for every 1,000 people living in the 20 percent of ZIP codes that make up the highest percentage of white residents. This trend continued as minority-owned businesses failed to receive approval at nearly half the average rate during the first and second rounds of PPP loans.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., conducted a “mystery shopper” study between April and late May and found white borrowers were given far better treatment and leniency at 13 out of 17 banks.
