The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a provision in the CARES Act, provides forgivable loans for businesses impacted by the devastating financial impact of the epidemic.  Yesterday, on the statutory deadline for submission of PPP applications, the Senate voted unanimously to extend the program until August 8, 2020.  The bill, S4116 was sponsored by Senator Benjamin Cardin will now head to a vote in U.S House of Representatives.

 The Small Business Administration will stop accepting applications to the program unless / until the House passes passes the Senate version of the bill.

Other recent legislative action in Congress that could potentially impact the PPP loan program are below:

• S.4117

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act or) was signed into law March 27, 2020 to provide emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  The Paycheck Protection Program, a provision in the CARES Act, provides forgivable loans for businesses impacted by the devastating financial impact of the epidemic.

The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) was signed into law on June 5th to expand borrower flexibility and simplify the process to request forgiveness as a result of feedback from lenders and borrowers reporting that the rigidity and uncertainty of the program, as implemented, rendered the loan program an ineffective source of relief.… Read More

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27th and intended to provide emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  One provision of the CARES Act intended to deliver relief to small businesses included an expansion of the SBA’s existing 7(b) emergency loan program (Economic Injury Disaster Loans or EIDLs) to help eligible businesses and private nonprofits pay payroll and operating expenses that could have been paid had the COVID-19 public health emergency not occurred.

The program exhausted funding and the application portal closed on April 15, 2020 (reopened in May for agricultural businesses only). … Read More

The  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, was enacted on March 27, 2020 to provide immediate assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the provisions of the CARES Act included a loan program authorizing the Small Business Administration to temporarily guarantee loans under a new 7(a)
loan program titled the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).   Loans guaranteed under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are  100 percent guaranteed by SBA, and the full principal amount of the loans may qualify for loan forgiveness. 

The forgiveness component is what attracted massive interest in the program as business owners across the country are faced with government shut down orders that have caused significant declines in economic activity.… Read More

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston today released several borrower and lender documents and a revised FAQ for the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program.  The documents were released on the Federal Reserve of Bank of Boston website.  The lending program was established with the passing of the CARES Act and is expected to be operational by early June. 

The Program is meant to support small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the COVID19 pandemic.

Our team is working through all of the information and will include an overview during Monday’s webinar.

The revised FAQ document is 56 pages long and the list of documents released late last night are below:

• Instructions
  
• Lender Registration Certifications and Covenants
• Lender Wire Instructions
• Participation Agreement Transaction Specific Terms
• Participation Agreement Standard Terms and Conditions
• Servicing Agreement
• Assignment-in-Blank
• Co-Lender Agreement Transaction Specific Terms
• Co-Lender Agreement Standard Terms and Conditions
• MSNLF Lender Transaction Specific Certifications and Covenants
• MSELF Lender Transaction Specific Certifications and Covenants
• MSPLF Lender Transaction Specific Certification and Covenants
• MSNLF Borrower Certifications and Covenants
• MSELF Borrower Certification and Covenants
• MSPLF Borrower Certification and Covenants
• Main Street FAQs

Please reach out to cares@brinkersimpson.com… Read More

On May 26, 2020, the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (H. R. 7010) was introduced in the House of Representatives to address some of the major concerns voiced by Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrower with regard to forgiveness and to modify other provisions of the Program.  

PPP borrowers across the county have expressed major concern with the loan requiring funds be spent over the 8 week covered period following receipt of the loan proceeds.  Many businesses, the most severely impacted, are only now beginning to see relaxed rules or information about reopening plans from their states.  The PPP required borrowers to restore both their headcount and salary levels to pre pandemic levels by the end of the covered period or June 30th. … Read More

Nearly four million people are being sent their Economic Impact Payment by prepaid debit card, instead of paper check, the Internal Revenue Service announced last week. 

The announcement comes as a result of an interpretive rule issuance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) clarifying that coronavirus relief payments will not be considered “government benefits” and can be issued as prepaid cards, as a result.  The CFPB has issued a FAQ page with more information.

The determination of which taxpayers receive a debit card was made by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, another part of the Treasury Department that works with the IRS to handle distribution of the payments. … Read More

The CARES Act was enacted on March 27th, 2020 to provide immediate assistance to individuals, families, and organizations affected by the COVID-19 emergency.

Among the provisions contained in the CARES Act are provisions authorizing SBA to temporarily guarantee loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  The intent was to quickly provide funding to struggling business owners impacted by the government mandated public health measures designed to mitigate the spread of the virus.  In service of that goal, the structure of the program relies on borrower documentation and certifications to apply for loans and forgiveness.

The central purpose of the program, per the CARES Act, is keeping workers paid and employed. … Read More