Paycheck Protection Program

More PPP funds are on the way—but applications for new PPP and Second Draw loans aren’t ready yet.

Enroll in our PPP alerts to get the latest updates and to get access to the PPP application in our online portal when it’s ready.

For a new First Draw PPP loan, you can borrow up to 2.5 times your average monthly payroll, excluding individual employee costs or computed income above $100,000 per year, but the maximum loan amount is capped at $10,000,000 per borrower. Businesses that are part of a single corporate group are limited to PPP loans not exceeding $20,000,000 in the aggregate. 

For a Second Draw PPP loan, you may borrow up to 2.5 times your average monthly payroll, excluding any individual compensation or self-employment income above $100,000, but the maximum loan amount is capped at $2,000,000 per borrower.  If you are an accommodation and food service business and have a NAICS Code starting with 72, you may borrow up to 3.5 times your average monthly payroll costs, but you remain subject to the $2,000,000 cap. Businesses that are part of a single corporate group are limited to Second Draw PPP loans not exceeding $4,000,000 in the aggregate. 

The following are eligible and forgivable uses for proceeds of a PPP loan:

• Payroll costs
• Group health care, life, disability, vision, or dental insurance premiums
• Mortgage interest (principal excluded)
• Rent and utilities
• Covered operations expenditures
• Covered property damage resulting from events in 2020 that is not covered by insurance
• Covered supplier costs
• Covered worker protection expenditures to comply with federal and health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19

PPP loan proceeds should only be used for permissible purposes as set forth in the Act and SBA guidance and not for prohibited or unauthorized purposes including for lobbying activities and expenditures.  If the applicant is a news organization eligible for a PPP loan under Section 317 of the new Act, the loan should be used to support only expenses at the component of the business that produces or distributes locally focused or emergency information.

As part of the application process, be prepared to provide documentation of your payroll costs or income and documentation supporting that your business was in operation on February 15, 2020. You should also be prepared to submit documentation supporting a 25% or greater revenue reduction if you are applying for a Second Draw loan. For more detailed information and guidance on what is included in payroll costs or how income is computed for purposes of the PPP, please reference this information from the SBA.

If you’ve already submitted a completed PPP application and all required documentation, you can check the status of your loan on our PPP Client Portal. Please note that due to demand, we can’t guarantee every qualified applicant will receive a loan under the PPP. 

When we open the PPP Client Portal for new applications, we’ll process applications as quickly as possible.

If you’ve submitted a completed PPP application and all required documents, there’s nothing more for you to do. You’ll be able to use our PPP Client Portal to review the status of your application and funding.

Part of the funding approval process rests with the Small Business Administration. Timing for this is difficult to forecast as it is not in our direct control, and it could affect if and how quickly you receive your funds.

The Small Business Administration has outlined strict requirements for documentation. As applications go through the review process, any issues with the application, including inaccurate information or incomplete documentation, could delay your ability to get through the approval process, and you may lose your place in the queue. In the event we contact you for additional information, it is extremely important that you respond immediately in order to keep your loan application on track for a final funding decision. We encourage you to check the PPP Client Portal regularly for updates.

As a reminder, it is the borrower’s sole responsibility to determine and certify their eligibility to receive a loan under PPP.  In addition to reviewing the affiliation rules to determine eligibility, all borrowers must assess their economic need for a PPP loan under the standard established by the CARES Act and the PPP regulations.

On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Government issued regulatory guidance making clear that a PPP loan applicant must review carefully the applicant’s required certification that “current economic uncertainty make this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” This guidance:

• Directs each applicant to take into account its current business activity and its ability to access other sources of liquidity sufficient to support its ongoing operations in a manner that is not significantly detrimental to the business.
• Notes, by way of example, that it is unlikely that a public company with substantial market value and access to capital markets would be able to make the required certification in good faith, and such a company should be prepared to demonstrate to the Small Business Administration (SBA), upon request, the basis for its certification.

Additionally, to further ensure PPP loans are limited to eligible borrowers in need, the SBA has decided—in consultation with the Department of the Treasury—that it will review all loans in excess of $2 million, in addition to other loans as appropriate (see SBA’s Frequently Asked Question 39, which was issued on April 29, 2020). The SBA will perform this review following the lender’s submission of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application.

In reviewing borrowers’ required good-faith certification concerning the necessity of their PPP loan request, the SBA—in consultation with the Department of the Treasury—has determined that the following safe harbor will apply: Any borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith (see SBA’s Frequently Asked Question 46, which was issued on May 13, 2020). Importantly, borrowers with loans greater than $2 million that do not satisfy this safe harbor may still have an adequate basis for making the required good-faith certification, based on their individual circumstances in light of the language of the certification and SBA guidance. As noted above, the SBA has previously stated that all PPP loans in excess of $2 million, and other PPP loans as appropriate, will be subject to review by SBA for compliance with program requirements set forth in the PPP Interim Final Rules and in the Borrower Application Form. If SBA determines in the course of its review that a borrower lacked an adequate basis for the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request, SBA will seek repayment of the outstanding PPP loan balance and will inform the lender that the borrower is not eligible for loan forgiveness. If the borrower repays the loan after receiving notification from SBA, SBA will not pursue administrative enforcement or referrals to other agencies based on its determination with respect to the certification concerning necessity of the loan request.