LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — This week was round 2 of issuing checks through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The program offers loans designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.
The PPP promises to be a lifeline for businesses that have been financially impacted by COVID-19.
When the portal was opened this week with a new round of funding, bankers tried to get to work. Nevada bankers worked all day and through the night on Monday trying to help their small business applicants access these funds.
Nevada banks, ranging from community banks to larger national banks, were experiencing varying levels of success depending on whether they are using an automated system versus a manual system.
“Most association members I’ve spoken with reported significant delays and issues with the application process,” said NBA President and CEO Phyllis Gurgevich. “The SBA boasted 100,000 loans by more than 4,000 lenders for this latest round starting Monday. However, that’s 25 loans on average, and there are more than 5,300 approved lenders. So, their own claim shows that about 20% of the lenders haven’t been able to process a single loan. The question is what has happened to those remaining lenders in processing the loans?”
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Bankers are reporting having trouble with accessing the system as well as entering applications. They are receiving numerous error messages and intermittently being booted off the system completely.
For more information on the Paycheck Protection Program, visit sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options.
