The Small Business Administration will prioritize minority-owned businesses when it relaunches its Paycheck Protection Program, which has $285 billion in new funding, reports Politico Pro. This follows a backlash over whether minority-owned businesses had sufficient access to the loans during the last rounds of the program.
Under new guidance, which was released Wednesday, there are specific guidelines for minority, veteran, and women employers, including accepting PPP loan applications only from certain lenders that focus on underserved and minority businesses and distressed areas for at least the first two days of the program.
Jeannine Jacokes, chief executive of the Community Development Bankers Association, believes a staggered launch is a good idea because of the technology problems from high demand that occurred last year.
“There are a whole lot of businesses that are hurting,” she said. “The whole first-come, first-serve thing—I hope they have a better way of managing that because I think that’s a lot of what created all the hysteria over PPP.”
The SBA has not said when it will begin taking applications for this round of PPP, but sources closely following the rollout expect it to happen next week. Full Story (Subscription Required)
Related: Report: Small Business Aid is Not Enough; Focus on Payroll Costs to Obtain PPP Loan Forgiveness, Consultant Says.