SBA director offers advice for small businesses considering PPP forgiveness

CHARLOTTE — The Paycheck Protection Program’s application period ended in August, but it is far from over. Months of processing forgiveness applications still lie ahead for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA has never had a year like 2020. (Who has?) It moved quickly to help businesses during the pandemic. It approved more than 5.2 million PPP loans totaling $525 billion. As of Oct. 19, the SBA had approved more than 3.6 million Economic Injury Disaster Loans totaling nearly $192 billion.

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There were about 129,300 PPP loans, totaling $12.29 billion, approved in North Carolina. More than 90,000 EIDLs, totaling $4.25 billion, have been approved in this state.

The SBA opened its PPP forgiveness portal on Aug. 10. The loans can be partially or fully forgiven if used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities. Participating lenders told many borrowers to wait on forgiveness, as Congress argued over additional aid. Many bankers hoped all PPP loans at $150,000 or less would gain automatic forgiveness with a streamlined process.

Weeks later, Congress has yet to reach a decision. More banks are accepting forgiveness applications.

Thomas Stith, director of the SBA’s North Carolina district, is helping to oversee the PPP process. He was sworn in just over a year ago — a much different environment than today’s reality. Stith and his team have worked tirelessly to assist struggling small businesses as they weather Covid-19′s economic impact.

The Charlotte Business Journal talked with Stith this week about the ongoing PPP forgiveness process. He discussed how the SBA is tackling forgiveness, what small businesses need to consider and what other resources are still available.

Read that interview here.

Small business owners experience problems applying for PPP loan forgiveness

Cox Media Group