By Joshua Huff, sports editor
WASHINGTON — The reintroduction of the Paycheck Protection Program jumped out to a rough start on Monday, April 27, after reports indicated that the Small Business Administration’s portal crashed amid an influx of backlogged loan applications.
Banks issued cries of alarm on Monday morning after the system, dubbed E-Tran, failed to allow loan application information to be processed. The hiccup continues a rough few weeks for the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program. The program ran out of money after just two weeks and was also plagued with technical problems that did not allow small businesses to apply or receive much-needed help.
The new round of loan disbursements, totaling $321 million, is expected to go to businesses that had already filled out applications prior to the funding drying up. Much like the first go around, the funding for this stage is expected to be depleted in short order as businesses clamor for help.
The issues plaguing the SBA’s emergency loan program go deeper than tech issues. Many national chains and large businesses received funding that was meant to go to businesses with 500 or fewer employees. Some of the funds instead went to major companies like Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Taco Cabana, J. Alexander’s, the coal company, Hallador Energy, and the largest sushi chain in the nation, Kura Sushi USA Inc., the Los Angeles Lakers, among others.
It was also revealed that large banks had received $10 billion in processing fees.
The SBA announced that it had approved more than 1.66 million loans for more than $342.2 billion. According to the agency, 4,412 of those loans were distributed for more than $5 million. The agency indicated that 1.1 million applications were approved by April 14 for $263 billion, with the average loan size roughly $239,000.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was originally a $349 billion stimulus effort heralded as a means to help the nation’s small businesses pay their workers and keep their operations running.