PPP loan-forgiveness problems make news

Politico reported on the frustrations of community banks and other lenders with the Paycheck Protection Program's loan-forgiveness process.
 
The report notes that while policymakers pledged to forgive PPP loans if employers maintained payroll, the SBA has yet to forgive any of the program's $525 billion in loans, which is creating headwinds for borrowers and lenders.
 
“No bank I know anywhere in the country has received any money from the SBA," said Brad Bolton, ICBA vice chairman and president and CEO of Community Spirit Bank in in Red Bay, Ala.
 
ICBA continues urging community bankers to call their members of Congress and urge support for legislation to simplify PPP loan forgiveness. The bipartisan Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act (H.R. 7777/S. 4117) would provide simplified forgiveness for PPP loans of $150,000 or less.
 
ICBA last week continued its campaign for simplified forgiveness in a written statement for a House subcommittee hearing, noting a Government Accountability Office report that complex PPP forgiveness applications could take up to 15 hours for borrowers to complete and 75 hours for lenders to review.