Small Business Majority Responds to the Release of PPP Borrower Information
Washington, DC – Today, Small Business Majority Founder and CEO, John Arensmeyer, issued the following statement after the Small Business Administration (SBA) released borrower data for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
“As the largest stimulus program in our nation’s history, PPP must receive proper oversight and transparency. While we are pleased the SBA has finally released borrower information, the data set unveiled today is a far cry from an accurate picture of the program. Across the board, there are gaping holes and inconsistencies in the information. Serious questions remain about whether PPP funds were equitably distributed to minority-owned businesses, and there is an alarming rate of small-dollar loans.
Nationally, a total of more than 21,800 small businesses, many with multiple employees, received a loan for under $1,000. To raise eyebrows even more, more than 1,200 of those businesses received less than $100–with some receiving loans as low as $1.00! Underfunding has been a pervasive problem for borrowers since PPP launched. About one in every four small businesses in our network have reported receiving a lower loan than what they requested. While many business owners received no explanation for why they did not receive the full loan amount, a number of other businesses have reported that lenders and the SBA either failed to catch and rectify errors on applications, or businesses were told to accept less than what they would qualify for to move things through the process quickly.
The data set makes it next to impossible to determine how well small businesses were served by PPP. The SBA has already recognized that demographic information is lacking, and it plans to collect this data during the forgiveness process; however, more information is needed. Moving forward, SBA must revise the information to include the amount requested by a borrower and the amount received, and publicly commit to reporting revised data on a rolling basis now, and through the forgiveness process.
The survival of America’s small businesses depends on the full disclosure of PPP’s successes and failures. Sunlight has always been the best disinfectant, and we cannot allow those small businesses that were grossly underfunded or disadvantaged by the program to disappear and not have their stories told and rectified.”
About Small Business Majority
Small Business Majority was founded and is run by small business owners to ensure America’s entrepreneurs are a key part of a thriving and inclusive economy. We actively engage our network of more than 65,000 small business owners in support of public policy solutions and deliver information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about key issues impacting small businesses and freelancers. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.